


Prima Materia

by xeveningx



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, F/M, Lost Child, Lots of Hurt, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Multi, Repressed Memories, lots of wandering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:21:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 27,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25585072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xeveningx/pseuds/xeveningx
Summary: "Your existence is null. A nobody meant to serve a purpose and perish." The voice spoke somberly. The words struck like sharp knives against her skin, cutting her, bleeding her. Still, she smiled warmly. "I'm somebody to someone. That's enough for me." Celia, a girl lost in a world unknown to her yet somehow familiar, wants to know of her past—no matter how painful—to stop just surviving it and start living. But what she finds in that dark fog in her mind may as well end her all and everything in one strike if she's unable to stop it.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Metempsychosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit and huge thank you to @Peshecito on twitter for this wonderful commission! Truly gives off the vibe that I'm going for with this rewrite of one my very first works.

_**** _

* * *

_**Prima Materia** _

**One. |** _Metempsychosis_

* * *

The sky cried.

A ridiculous notion. The woman lying—dying—on the ground knew better than to think anybody would be saddened by her death. It was a mere climatic event happening because of condensation and changing temperatures. Dark clouds weren't sentient. Neither was the dirt ground beneath her that she bled upon now. A fool would believe it living from how her blood painted it and pulsed through its cracked veins. Every hoarse and forced inhale bled her faster, infusing every breath onto the earth.

Yet for as much as she logically knew it to be false, it appeared to be so as the cold water washed the dirt and blood from her progressively ashen skin as her life left her. Dying alone was a blessing in and of itself, she surmised. Nobody would see her weak and fragile as she was in these last moments.

A wry smile managed to pull upon her lips at the thought.

"It is astonishing how you can laugh in the face of death."

Her vision blurring already, the woman could only see the faint silhouette standing over her. An abomination in man's skin. A haughty laugh burst from her chest, but the sound turned almost instantly into a nasty gurgle as warm crimson blood spilled from her mouth turning her lips the same shade.

"I laugh...because I have yet to lose."

"You poor, delusional lamb. Such a bright future ahead of you, such boundless power, and you shun it and turn your back on God. All for an abomination."

Blood shot from her lips as she spat at him with what little strength she had left, letting her head fall with a heavy _thud_ against the ground with finality.

"To hell with your God," she muttered under her labored breath, chest heaving forcefully with each one, "...to hell with you."

Sudden pressure in her chest sucked the last bit of air in her lungs in an instant. Her eyes widened and fell at the pain that came and left her just as suddenly, reaping from her the last bit of her left. Drops fell on her eyes and rolled down the side of her face as she laid there, one last breath taken as the satisfied smile became permanently etched upon her lips and all light vanished from her eyes.

"Poor lamb indeed."

* * *

**| — — died after 11,986 days.|**

* * *

**| Several years later; Somewhere in China.|**

_Snow?_

Aloof amethyst eyes gazed skyward at the gray clouds above her. Tiny flakes of snow floated downward falling coldly into her open palms raised curiously upward. She watched with mild fascination as the flakes melted at coming in contact with her warm skin, the odd sensation of cold making her head reel with a sudden question.

_How do I know...what snow is?_

It was a strange thought. To her knowledge, she had never before seen this 'snow'. Nor felt this coldness against her skin or the biting asphalt beneath her feet. Her lungs had never hurt this much and she didn't know why her head was pounding so bad. The cold she felt when the flakes touched her hands coursed through her at the idea of 'cold' and her tiny body began to shiver. Teeth chattering and skin becoming colder by the second, her feet took off running aimlessly taking her through the streets that remained so deadly quiet that night. Finally slowing down when coming upon the main streets, the little girl held herself as she watched a handful of people traversing them. Amethyst eyes scanned around and stopped at the small fire that a group of people huddled over.

Wanting nothing more than to be warm, her bare feet pattered as she scampered over to their little group. The foul smell hit her nostrils before she even reached them and stopped her in her tracks. A few noticing her arrival scowled and glowered at her but she dismissed them to huddle closer to the warm fire instead. Suddenly, a cry came out of her when one of the men in the group kicked her out of the inner ring while growling something under his breath.

"Get your own fire, you little shit."

The little girl blinked astounded by the sudden act of aggression. Had she done something to provoke the old man? Though unable to understand, she didn't exactly have the time to wonder about it either when her teeth started chattering and clacking forcefully against each other as her body shook even more violently than before.

_Cold_.

It was getting too cold for her to bear anymore. The moment she tried getting up though—and to her utter surprise—something warm fell over her shoulders. Peering out from under it, the strong waft of perfumes and balms from the coat came to her. The scent was practically suffocating, but it was warm. Very much so. Gingerly taking it into her hands, she wrapped it closer around her tiny body and let it engulf her before raising her gaze to the one that had dropped such a piece of clothing on her.

Dark ebony eyes stared aloofly down at her as a petite woman stood over her. Somewhat messy red curls bounced around her neck as the woman turned to the lot huddled by the bonfire.

"You old shits have no heart treating a little girl like that."

"Fuck off, Red."

_Red?_ Static floated in her head blurring her thoughts but was snapped out of it by the gruff sound of another man.

"Yeah." Another sounded off before hacking out spit. A crude look came over him then, his whole demeanor changing when the woman met his eyes. "Better yet, come fuck this." He vulgarly grabbed at his crotch lifting it for show, something the little girl found neither disturbing nor pleasing.

"You don't have the coin to afford a damn kick in your ass."

Though furious at her blatant slander, the others reeled him back before he could harm the woman that now placed herself between them and the little girl. One of the oldest there, an old lady drinking out of a metal flask, called out roughly while showing partially rotting teeth.

"Get out of here, Red, before they pounce at you."

The redhead humphed before turning on her heels and starting to walk away. When she realized the little girl was at a standstill, she grabbed her by her wrist and hauled the child after herself. The little girl didn't know what had happened or what even was going on now as the woman pulled her along the empty streets. The darkness of the night and the coldness of the faint snowfall were soon replaced by bright lights and warmth along a long stretch of road where rows upon rows of huge houses stood. Each had more women, not unlike Red, who wore barely any clothes despite the light snowfall and men wandering drunkenly down the streets—either filing out or being thrown out—while following the light out into the darkness that shrouded the rest of the town.

Round doe eyes strayed every which way trying to make sense of everything as a myriad of sensations bombarded her. Soon, though, Red took her into one of the many establishments breaking her concentration. This one was a grand mansion on the outside, lit to the brim and almost lighting the extent of the street that it stood in. Inside was even rowdier than she had initially thought as well. More women, each a beauty in their own right, filled every inch of the inside as men howled and perused the sights before them with drinks in hand and merriment in their hearts. She idly watched for a moment before the woman somewhat roughly hauled her through the mess of people and up a set of stairs onto the upper floors where fewer men seemed to be. A few of the other women greeted Red and although they sent questioning looks her way, none asked Red what she was doing dragging a little girl around the place.

Finally, the woman led her through a set of double doors to what she readily recognized as a huge bathhouse. They ignored the girls bathing there who simply shot curious glances and gossiped behind their backs as they entered more private bathrooms. Her amethyst eyes searched the small bathtub that sat on the floor next to a showerhead and stood idly in place when Red finally released the hold on her hand. Without warning, Red yanked away the warm perfumed coat that she'd dropped so suddenly on top of her.

Red stood her inches away before kneeling to inspect every inch of her. Ebony eyes took in every little detail, noting under her breath the few cuts and bruises she had littered across her body. Gently, she patted her down from head to toe all the while asking if anything hurt. It didn't. Her body just strangely ached like someone had given her the beating of a lifetime. She told her as much. Red hummed pensively before inspecting her face by taking hold of her chin.

"How old are you, girl?"

"Um..." She knew what age was. She just couldn't remember exactly what hers was. So she picked the first random number that sounded about right. "Six?"

"Good enough," she muttered before going to inspect her head. Suddenly, those ebony eyes widened with shock. She was so close to her that the action allowed her to see that her eyes weren't black at all. They were the darkest color of brown, like coffee. "You said nothing hurts?"

The little girl nodded her head. Red bit her lip and her eyes veered pensively. Rising from her spot, she talked her through everything she was doing as she undressed her. A bath was sorely needed is what she said. Her wounds needed to be taken care of and she needed a new set of clothes. She found it quite strange that a complete stranger took her in and offered all these things without asking for anything in return.

It felt wrong _._ The word _suspicious_ came to mind.

"Why are you doing all this?"

The little girl finally asked once they were on her second shower. The first had been a literal bloodbath with how much dirt and old, matted blood she'd had on herself. Not to mention it left her whole body red and raw from the thorough scrubbing it received at Red's hands. The second one, the older woman mentioned, would leave her presentable.

Red eyed her from behind her where she carefully washed through her hair with warm water alone. The warmth made her flinch every time it touched a certain part of her head but she ignored it waiting for her answer.

"You got any family?"

She thought about it. 'Family' was a term she understood. Words and their meanings came to mind when she spotted certain things or people though it still bothered her that she knew not where she'd heard them or how. 'Family' gave her that odd feeling too. She knew what it was, didn't know exactly how, and she knew she didn't have it.

Red nodded thoughtfully when she told her as much. From the corner of her eye, she saw her put a small threaded needle through the flame of a candle that stood on the small table beside the bathtub. _Sterilize._ She didn't know what it meant. Just that that's what Red was doing by putting it through the small flame.

"How did you get all those scars on your body?"

Automatically, her hand covered her stomach. There it felt the rough patch of skin no larger than her closed fist that slit across her abdomen. Funny. She hadn't known that it was there before all this. Her head tilted curiously to respond but Red quickly straightened her neck to keep her facing forward while telling her to stay still.

"I don't know. I just know I have them."

She didn't know what compelled her to tell Red the truth—or as much of it as she could recall, anyway. Maybe the fact that she'd been the first to show her a modicum of kindness was it. Maybe…

"What'd you mean you don't know? You have that huge scar on your stomach, cuts, and bruises everywhere else, _and_ this big open gash on the back of your head and you're telling me you don't _know_ how you got them?"

"Gash?" she faintly repeated. Suddenly the stinging from the water and the needle made sense.

But before she could verify her suspicions, Red pierced through her skin to stitch said open wound closed. The girl hissed at the sudden pain, her hands gripping tightly the edges of the porcelain tub to keep from moving. It took a few minutes that hurt like high heavens but it was over soon, leaving only the angry red, stitched-up wound to peek from the small patch of hair she had cut short without her noticing. The balm Red gently coated it with helped the sudden pain quite a bit too.

Plucking her out of the oversized bathtub, the next stop was what appeared to be Red's room. At least that's what she surmised by the rather overt touches of decorations. A few touches of gold ornaments were scattered about, like a gold-framed vanity and accessories, but the rest were different shades of dark red. A wine red, she supposed, likening the color scheme to the bottles of said alcohol linning a certain shelf not far from her plush-looking bed.

Red lifted her to stand on the chest that sat at the foot of said bed before going about gathering clothes from her wardrobe. When she saw her return with small, one-piece dresses and blouses and skirts in hand, it finally dawned on her.

_I'm still butt naked._

It took a few attempts and some try-ons of the clothes Red had at hand before they found one that fit her small body. It wasn't anything special compared to what she'd seen those women in the foyer wearing. But it was sleepwear from the looks of it. Just a white gown a bit too big for her. When she kept pulling at her long sleeves with a frown, Red mimicked the gesture back.

"Don't give me that," Red reproached when she caught sight of her expression. "You're lucky I even had something close to your size. You're way too small for your age."

"I don't really know my age," she finally confessed with an aloof expression returning to her face. "I just said what I thought sounded right."

This finally got Red to truly scowl in frustration. She stood with a hand on her hips and stared down at her. "What the hell happened to you, kid?" She then shook her head as if whisking away that same question as she placed a hand to her temple. "Forget it, you probably don't know either."

_I don't._ But confirming that seemed like the wrong choice, so she kept silent instead.

Red peeved out of her mind finally said, "Is there anything you _do_ know? Like your name maybe?" Knowing the answer but not daring to say it, she pursed her lips shut instead. That, however, gave it away to Red who sighed, exhausted. "Didn't think that would be hoping for much. Guess I was wrong."

"Is Red _your_ name?"

Red nodded briskly as she busied herself with putting the rest of the clothes she'd taken out back in her wardrobe. The girl climbed down from the chest meanwhile to take a seat on it and watch her from afar. "It's what people know me as. You'll address me as Madame."

"Madame?"

"As for why I brought you here..." she trailed off for a moment, "I didn't just do so out of the goodness of my heart. I'm a little short-handed at the moment."

The girl put together the vague meanings of the words she recalled to make sense of what she'd just said.

"You...own this place?"

"Simply put, yes. I own this brothel." Madame Red came back to her, plucking her from under her armpits to carry her over onto the bed that had been so lushly adorned. With ease, Red parted the comforter and blankets away before tucking her down into the bed. Baffled beyond belief, the little girl sprung from out the most comfortable bed she'd ever laid on when Red began walking towards the door.

"Wait, you're just going to leave me here?"

"It's late," she retorted, walking over to a few lit candles and deftly putting them out with a press of her licked fingers. "And children—especially injured ones—should rest and get better so as to not be a bother later."

Seeing she wasn't satisfied with the downplayed explanation, Red made her way back to her to tuck her back in and stayed by her side for a moment to properly explain.

"You need to rest well so that you can heal properly."

"You never answered my question." Despite talking back, she didn't move from her spot as she sunk back into the cozy, feather mattress. Funny how its softness was weighing so heavily on her eyelids. She rubbed them in a poor attempt to keep awake too stubborn to go to sleep before getting her answer. "Why...are you doing all this for me? You don't even know me."

"I don't." Red tenderly brushed the girl's dark brunette locks back from her face before retreating her hand. "But I take care of my workers, the young and old. And since you'll be working for me from tomorrow onwards, it's only natural for me to see after your wellbeing. Now, stop asking questions and rest, Celia."

Amethyst eyes grew wide, her mind suddenly wide awake.

"Celia?"

Madame Red smiled and bopped her nose with a slim finger. The dark gaze that had looked so oddly distrustful turned suddenly kind as her smile turned gentle at noticing the expression of pure bafflement on the previously aloof girl.

"I have to call you _something_. Now, rest, Celia. I'll see you in the morning."

Red left her in a darkened room but with the sudden bomb she'd dropped, it was practically impossible to sleep. Celia felt her chest swell up a little as well as her cheeks becoming warmer the more the word bounced around in her head.

_Not a word,_ she told herself faintly. _A name._ _ **My**_ _name._

The giddiness that bounced around and swelled in her heart made her smile for the first time. Hiding under the blanket, she held it tightly in her hands before turning to the only window in the room. Because of how high it was from the streets, only a faint hue from the red light below reached it but it wasn't high enough to escape from the moonlight that faded in and out of view from behind passing clouds.

Allowing that feeling to settle finally let the exhaustion and weariness she'd been hiding take over and bring her to sleep.

* * *

"C'mon, Celia. I'll show you around the place and what your job will be here."

Celia bounced on her feet and sprinted forward to catch up to Madame without a word. The morning had been much closer than she thought but even those few hours that had gone by had been much needed rest for her. From what Red told her, her wounds had pretty much healed overnight. Something quite shocking according to her, but lucky all the same.

Out of the house and back in the brothel, they traversed through the now quiet halls—something surprising in and of itself for Celia—until they arrived at the back part of the business where, to her utter shock, mostly young children and teens resided. Like tiny ants, they trekked on working diligently and with such precision that Celia couldn't believe it. That work was halted the instant Red clapped her hands to summon them. All at once, the children obediently dropped what they were doing and rushed to line up before her. Celia jumped at how well coordinated they were. It was kind of scary, really. Madame, not the least bit fazed, walked over to one of the older girls. Celia watched from a safe distance as Red patted the young girl's head before turning back to her and addressing the girl from before.

"This is Celia, Rosalia. Be a good girl and teach her how we do things around here for me."

The girl's, Rosalia's, eyes twinkled in their green hue as she nodded. "Yes, Madame."

Red took her hand back before returning to Celia who cowered a bit when Red tried to pat her head the same way she had Rosalia. Not bothered, Red took her hand back and crouched down before Celia with a smile pulling on her lips.

"I don't intend to hurt you. I took you in to take care of you. Of course, it won't be for free. But you're still young so it'll be a long while before you can truly earn your keep here. Enjoy doing the little menial tasks while you still can, Celia."

Amethyst eyes scrunched up, confused by the cryptic comment but restrained from asking when she saw Red stand up and address the rest of the children present.

"Be kind to her, my lovelies. You have a new little sister to take care of now."

"Yes, Madame!" the chorus of high-pitched voices answered back.

Madame Red then left her to her devices with the hoard of children that lapped at her every word like bees drawn to honey. Celia stayed back as the kids returned to their tasks, the only one bothering with her being the one left in charge of her. Rosalia stared down at Celia with those big green eyes of her. A small scowl formed on her lips before she clicked her tongue, something Celia found strange from someone who'd sounded and seemed so sweet just seconds ago.

"You're the new one?" Rosalia shook her head, resigned. "Madame could do so much better than some wretch from the streets."

Celia wanted to retort with the small annoyance that started to grow with each of Rosalia's words. Before she could though, Rosalia pointed behind her to the bunch of smaller children that were doing all kinds of work fit for their tiny bodies.

"Whatever. Street rats are still useful, I guess. So let's put you to work."

And she stayed true to her word.

Through the early hours of the morning, Celia came to find that working as a six-year-old was beyond exhausting. Her tiny body could only do so much. Nonetheless, she had to earn her stay at Red's from what Rosalia kept telling her. Strange way to pay back considering how menial her tasks were, consisting of cleaning dishes and doing the laundry of the women that worked on the other side of the brothel. Though few, they were draining. By the afternoon when lunch was served to them, courtesy of the downstairs bar, Celia couldn't feel her hands anymore nor ignore the pounding pain from the soles of her feet from running around in her oversized shoes. It was while eating her meal and sitting around with the rest of the children that Celia finally got a good look at what kind of children worked for Madame.

Some of them looked older than her by a few years. Those around Rosalia's age were much more abundant and had no problem hustling the smaller children like her around. All under Rosalia's iron thumb, of course. She might've looked young but even Celia could tell that the girl that commanded their little working force was as brutal as she was beautiful. It seemed her only priority was pleasing Madame Red's whim which included training them, no matter how much she appeared to hate them. Was this the kind of work that would help her pay back Red?

The thought made Celia wonder for a moment what exactly Red had meant about 'not truly earning her keep' yet. Her mind had a very vague idea about what a brothel was but because she couldn't quite grasp it, her trust for them was still up in the air. Sure they gave her a home, food, and clothes but with the lasting promise that she would eventually pay it back. Working one way or another by the sound of things.

Nothing felt more brutal than the manual job she had now though. By the end of that first day, she was exhausted beyond words. The instant Rosalia showed her to the bed that would be hers in the room she shared with the younger kids, Celia plopped down with her shoes still on ready to knock out. Just as she was about to drift off, the squeals of the children awoke her and brought her attention to their door as Madame entered their room. The children rushed over to her as she crouched down to speak to each one and thank them for their hard day's work. Rosalia stood behind Madame to one side, proud to be there by her expression.

Once all those pleasantries were done with, Red's dark gaze fell on Celia which instantly woke her up as she made her way to her bed. Offering Celia her hand, Red smiled tenderly.

"Come, we should check that wound of yours before you head to bed."

Not wanting to go with her but not wanting to dismiss her either, Celia inhaled deeply before getting out of bed and trailing after Madame. On her way out, she noted how the children pouted and glared at her, obviously peeved by the special treatment she was getting. Rosalia simply huffed unconcerned. But when she took a step forward intent on following behind them, Madame stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you help your little siblings to bed, Rosalia, dear?"

Despite it being a question, something in Celia told her that it had been anything but. Her tone might be sweet and loving but the way Rosalia's expression contorted from pride to downtrodden told her enough. Rosalia wanted to say no, but she wouldn't do that to Madame. So instead she muttered a small 'of course' before hollering at the smaller kids to get changed for bed.

Their clamoring quieted the further they got from the large bedroom but to Celia's surprise, aside from the noise that the children were making as they headed to bed, there was something else. Another noise. But it sounded muffled. Like it wasn't coming from the halls of the backhouse. It was as they passed the halls that linked the backhouse to the brothel that she realized just what was making all the noise.

"The brothel works at night," she faintly realized.

"It does," Madame retorted. "The grown-ups and I work at night while you and the rest of the children work during the day. That way you aren't too exposed to the comings and goings below."

"Are bad things happening down there?" Celia asked, curiously.

Madame Red giggled coyly at that. "Yes. Quite bad indeed."

Despite her curiosity, something restrained Celia from asking any further questions and instead quietly followed after Madame. Back in the only other familiar room, Celia took a seat on the chest from the night before to allow Madame some leeway to inspect her. It healed by the sound of things, though it baffled her how such a deep wound could've done so from one night to the next. Celia was grateful, all things considered. At least it wasn't hurting anymore.

Just as Madame was about to apply some more balm to be sure it would have minimal scarring, a hurried knock came to her door. It caught their attention instantly but only Red approached the door to find one of the working girls on the other side. Celia remained still in her seat at the chest but even from there, she could still somewhat hear the hushed conversation they were having.

"...he's here…"

"...where…?"

"...parlor…"

Madame appeared flustered, something Celia caught by the flush of her fair cheeks. A more hushed conversation ensued before the working girl was sent away and Madame returned to her. Her whole demeanor changed with that turn. Glee was evident in those dark eyes as it was on her flustered rosy cheeks. It was strange seeing such features on her. It made Celia wonder what exactly had made her like that. But she didn't even have time to ask. Madame ushered her out of her room saying she needed to get ready for a guest and for Celia to find her way back to the room.

It was all so abrupt that before she knew it, she'd been kicked out of Madame's room and into the hallway, leaving Celia to make her way back to the shared bedroom on her own. But somewhere on the way and between all the turns taken, Celia had to admit a grave realization that dawned on her.

"I don't know where the heck I'm going."

Bitterly, she grumbled to herself as she thought of what to do. Downstairs was an option. Asking one of the working girls was a sure way to know where the children's quarters were at. It was that or keep dawdling aimlessly. One long glance back at the empty and quiet hallways sent a chill down her spine that got her to turn about towards the nearest staircase.

_Downstairs it is._

The stairs creaked under her small weight and accompanied her to the foot of the staircase. It was there where a sharp pain struck the back of her head. It wasn't a blow, just a pungent pain that pounded in her skull. Beneath it all, Celia's ear caught something.

A small whisper.

A hushed voice.

And it was calling her.

It was spitting unintelligible gibberish but there was no doubt that it was there. Curious by the little voice, Celia turned a corner that led further into the brothel. These hallways were part of it by the looks of it, but they were separate too. More private. Whatever they were used for didn't matter to her though. The voice kept growing louder the further she walked down the hallway and turned to a quiet and rhythmic humming at the foot of a closed door.

Celia stared at it for a moment thinking about what could possibly be on the other side before taking the large doorknob in her small hands and turning it. With a soft click, the door slowly parted open. Amethyst eyes peered inside to find it oddly empty and dark. The few oil lamps that were on gave only faint lighting that served no better than a candle. Tiptoeing in, Celia perused about the room noting nothing different between it and Madame's or even the room she was to share with the children. If anything was different, it was the decor and decal but it was simple enough to be banal at best.

Room aside, a few things stood out about the things scattered about. A long trench coat with gold trimmings along with gold ornaments. It stunk of cigar smoke and alcohol. On the table in the middle of the room was an opened bottle of wine with a glass half full and beside them some weird items.

Among them a gun.

Celia had never seen one before. At least, not that she recalled. But faulty memory aside, she knew that it was one and that it wasn't a particularly normal one at that. Coming closer to inspect it, taking the liberty to stand on top of one of the chairs for a better view, Celia tilted her head at the odd pistol. Its muzzle was longer and the barrel looked empty, not to mention the odd-looking insignias carved on it. A cross, maybe? _Odd._ Curiosity peeked beyond words, Celia reached her small arm out towards it. Hovering over the pistol, a sudden and strange warmth tickled under her skin.

Her fingers flinched and stopped at the eerie sensation. It was almost like electricity running underneath her skin, skipping through her veins like her blood did but livelier. So much livelier. Amethyst eyes remained transfixed on the gun as she continued to reach out to it. Suddenly the electricity that coursed through her manifested inches away from the gun's handle as tiny bolts of bright green connected her skin to it.

It was a brief connection, one that sent shivers down her spine, but everything along with those shivers was sent flying out the window when a flash of gold crossed her vision out of the blue only to obscure it and tackle her down in the process.

"What the—"

Something big and fluffy blocked her mouth the instant she opened it to talk. Celia struggled against the large mass that put its whole weight on her tiny body essentially pinning her on the floor. Punching, kicking, and biting, she did all she could think of to get it off. When she finally decided to take it to a biting match, Celia followed suit biting as hard as she could onto the fluff that got pushed inside her mouth.

A strange noise howled and all at once the big mass jumped off of her. Instinctively rushing to the table, Celia doesn't hesitate to take the gun in her hand despite the flurry of bright green electricity that escaped her skin the instant she touched it. Though not painful, the sudden change and the golden ball's reengage forced her to react rather than think.

Celia didn't know what took over when she aimed and pressed the trigger. There wasn't much _to_ think when the charge of green energy shot across the room and hit whatever attacked her. The gun fell out of her hands when she fell back from the recoil but Celia lost no time in looking up to see what became of the creature.

Dust.

The shot turned it into nothing more than a huge pile of gold dust that dirtied the floor. Running up to it, she stared at it long enough to assure herself that it was actually dead. How the heck was that thing here? What even _was_ that thing? _A pigeon?_ It had wings from what she caught in glimpses and she recalled that pigeons also had them but then an odd thought came to her. The moment it did dread fell over her, her face blanching at the thought.

"I shot someone's pigeon."

Doors bursting open took her attention as two people came rushing in. She instantly recognized Red as she stood behind the person who'd burst through first. Red's dark eyes grew wide at noticing her there and immediately rushed past the man to kneel before her. Celia however, even through Madame's incessant henning, didn't dare pry her eyes from the dark crimson gaze piercing her coming from the redheaded man.

"What was that ghastly sound? Are you alright? What are you doing out of bed?"

"I'm okay…" Celia replied but never once made eye contact with her. Instead, she kept her gaze locked on the tall man that calmly made his way towards the gun abandoned on the floor.

Deftly, he bent over to pick it in his large hand and inspected the pistol for a moment before lifting his gaze to lock with hers. Amethyst eyes widened a bit at noticing something she hadn't from how dark the room was. He wore a mask. Half a mask, actually, on the right side of his face. The sight of it rang a bell in her head but a very quiet one. It was a noise that barely echoed in her head but that annoyed her enough to grab at her ear from all the ringing.

The sudden warmth that came to her hand made her retract it only to see fresh blood painting her fingers and palm. Madame clicked her tongue then as she forcefully bent her head forward.

"Your wound is open. How did you do that?"

"...I fell."

"Brat." The deep baritone voice that rang through the empty room reverberated enough to bring both their gazes back to him as he lazily leaned on one foot. Without any prompting, he lifted his gun to have it in full view. "You shot my gun, didn't you?"

Amethyst eyes locked with dark crimson for the full second that she refused to answer. In the end, she averted her eyes, something Madame took as a confirmation, prompting her to take a tight hold of her shoulders and shake her.

"You did what?!"

"It was an accident!" Celia immediately countered. "Some... _pigeon_ attacked me and wouldn't let go of me. I just grabbed the thing and shot it!"

"You don't shoot guns!" Madame reproached her sternly and with one more shake to get her point across. "Do you hear me? You don't hurt anybody, much less pick up a weapon against anything or anyone."

"It bit me first!"

"And you will not answer back in such a way so long as you live under my roof, do you understand me?"

That served the purpose of shutting her up entirely. Though, if her pursed lips were anything to go by, there was still much to say from her part.

"Now apologize."

Celia's head snapped back so quickly she swore it'd snap off. "What?"

"You hurt Master Cross's companion. Apologize _now_ , Celia."

"No need." The moment he said that Celia and Madame turned to him only to watch him holster his gun back and place it on the table before smirking. "Right, Tim?" From behind him, the big golden pigeon flew carelessly onto the table, its wings curling behind it and its large fluffy tail curling around itself.

Amethyst eyes went wide before she spun around faster than she thought possible. But the ground was clean. The dust was gone. No matter where she looked, there wasn't any trace of it anywhere anymore.

"It's alive…"

"That's a relief." Madame took Celia by her shoulders then and hurried her towards the door despite Celia's desperate attempt to keep glancing back. "I apologize all the same, Master Cross. She shouldn't be out and about, much less playing with your belongings. If you'll excuse me, I'll return in a few minutes after I make sure that she's put to bed."

"Take your time."

Celia kept looking back until she wasn't able to anymore. Until her gaze was forcefully torn from the sight of the redheaded, masked man and the golden, overweight pigeon.

* * *

_The sun is nice out._

With the snow melted away under the beating sunlight and more trees and flowers sprouting vibrant colors after the April showers, it truly was starting to seem like spring. Perfect weather to air out the laundry too.

Some of the younger girls dawdled about enjoying the sunny day that welcomed them in the morning. Celia, knowing they couldn't dally for much, called them over and imparted on them each a small basket where they'd carry their heap of clothes back inside. Heaving a sigh, she picked the one that was for her—the biggest one—but stopped short when a flash of gold caught her eye. Knowing fully well what would come, Celia safeguarded the basket of clean clothes instead of herself and took the full force of the tackle that pushed her onto her back against the floor. The younger girls chuckled as she sat up accommodating the big ball of gold that was Timcanpy as it nibbled on the crown of her head.

"Tim! Tim! Tim!" They chanted in unison, all while giggling at her misfortune.

"Don't encourage him!"

They chuckled some more and got her to shake her head at their childishness. Having had enough nibbling, Celia forcefully yanked Timcanpy off of her head before patting the giant ball and tying its tail around her waist. Not caring, it settled on the floor and allowed her to drag him along as Celia, with her freed hands, continued with taking back the heaviest basket of laundry while the other girls took in smaller heaps. Like a dutiful line of ducklings, they followed behind her and Timcanpy back into the manor that she now could comfortably say had become like home.

_And it only took half a year._

Celia couldn't believe how six whole months could fly by so fast before her eyes. So much happened during those months too that she couldn't very well believe it. After fully healing and taking to her duties, Celia found it enjoyable after becoming accustomed to the arduous job. But it wasn't all work and no games. Madame was sure to give them all an allowance and a day where the older girls would take the others out to town to enjoy however they wanted. Those who didn't want to could stay behind and enjoy a peaceful day off at the manor in their rooms or the common rooms. It was a pleasant trade-off for the days of work they had, frankly. What money she saved up usually went to either buying sweets or books and what days she remained behind in the manor, she spent them in her room reading. On odd occasions she would visit the women who worked in the brothel who, despite thinking her odd for going on the other side of the manor against Madame's wishes, welcomed the chirpy kid who gave them some good-natured fun and sweets from time to time.

Some of the children thought her odd for not wanting to enjoy as much time outside of the manor as they could after days of nonstop work, but for Celia it was the best way to get what she wanted. And what she wanted was to learn. It was why she used her allowance for books and free time to read or speak to the older women of the brothel. Books and grownups taught her things that she didn't know and in some cases, those things that she did know but had no idea how she did.

Speaking of, her memory had yet to return. Sometimes, Celia thought she could see blurs of them in her dreams. Happenings that she didn't recall replayed when she slept but when she woke, they were more than forgotten. The only reason she felt like they were that same past she couldn't recall was simply because of the emotions that surged through her whenever she awoke from those dreams. They were always a mix of joy, rage, fear, and tenderness. The one emotion that always remained when she awoke though was a sadness so profound that it more often than not brought her to tears. Mornings like those woke her early which was good. It gave her time to break down what she felt and set it aside. Though she wanted to remember them, that they left her as heartbroken as they did after such nights wasn't much encouragement.

It was good that her time in the manor was enjoyable in contrast.

Celia recoiled when just as she rounded the end of the stairs to head into the guestrooms a vase crashed not far from her. The noise spooked her and she jumped back bumping into Timcanpy as shards of porcelain scattered everywhere. Willing her racing heart to calm down, her eyes sprung upward the instant she heard giggling from upstairs.

At spotting familiar brunettes and the telltale glimpse of green eyes Celia couldn't help but heave a sigh before crouching down and carefully picking up the broken porcelain with the hem of her dress.

_For the most part anyway._

Routine as it had become, she still couldn't understand what had Rosalia and her group so uptight. Okay, maybe she did. It started after Madame appointed her to aid Rosalia in her duties overwatching the other kids two months ago. Celia guessed that after having clicked with the young girls so well in such a short time made her an easy pick. Unfortunately, that choice put a pretty big target on her back. Their harassment tended to be mostly verbal though they weren't beyond harming her physically. Of course, it was all under wraps. It made her wonder where they learned to hurt others without leaving marks.

"Wish they would punch me instead of breaking stuff."

Just as she was about to pick up a rather large piece, a shiny row of teeth opening nearby took her by surprise as Timcanpy went about munching down the porcelain pieces. It took him less than a minute to clean it all up and if she dared say it, it looked better than before. With a chuckle, Celia turned to Tim with a small smile as she dumped what pieces she'd picked up into his waiting mouth. She gave him a few pats as he munched on, swallowing the remnants of that nasty act pretty quickly.

"Thanks."

After having that cleaned up, she made her way down a hallway to a door that had become awfully familiar in the past months. Celia didn't bother knocking. She pushed the door open with enough space for Timcanpy to get through before yanking him in and closing it behind her. Turning about, she spotted who she was looking for enjoying the sunlight of the day over on the veranda. Or his back and long crimson hair anyway. Celia grabbed Timcanpy's tail from around her waist undoing the knot it was before dragging the ball of fluff over to its owner and plopping down herself on the other side of it.

The thick scent of smoke crawled around him and hugged him close as he took a drag of his cigarette. She abhorred the smell the first time she caught a whiff of it but after a while, she learned to cope with it like she had the smell of alcohol, sweat, and sourness from the laundry.

"Did she not teach you how to knock?" Cross finally said after another long drag of his smoke.

"I'll start knocking the day you teach this annoying ball to stop tackling me down."

"Tim bites people who irk him."

"You and your ball annoy me and you don't see _me_ biting. I'm thinking of making an exception if this goes on though." Celia pointed out of the room and in the general direction of the kitchen, "I've got a pretty good inventory of knives to pick from too."

Cross scoffed and languidly let his hand fall close to Timcanpy who swiftly ate the cigarette from his hand. "Makes one wonder how you keep getting bullied if you bark at them half as much as you do against me."

Celia kept quiet instead of replying, deciding to lay over Timcanpy who growled deep inside but didn't bother getting her off his back.

It's not like she didn't fight back. She talked back to them whenever Madame wasn't around and though that calmed them down for a few hours, they always came back with a vengeance. Frankly, she didn't know what was so great about being Madame's favorite like Rosalia claimed to be. Sure they got perks but from what she could gather they would end up serving her the same way all the other women on the other side of the brothel did.

"Again, Celia?"

Both her and Cross glanced over their shoulders to watch as Madame Red entered the room all dolled up like she always did when Cross was around. Which by her count was every other week nowadays.

"Cross's—"

" _Master_ Cross."

Pouting, Celia chose the roundabout way to phrase her dilemma. "Timcanpy keeps finding me whenever he's here. I just came to return him."

"Well, in that case, good girl, but you should leave now and attend to your duties." Coming near and bending over, Red caressed her cheek tenderly. Something that, despite knowing it was given to them all, Celia always valued for the little bit of care it showed. "It's lunchtime and the children must be waiting for you at the kitchen already. Be a good girl and help feed them, alright?"

"Yes, Madame." Rising from her seat, she patted Timcanpy a couple of times before bowing to Cross like Madame had taught her to and excusing herself before leaving them alone. Before she closed the door though she took a peek at their quaint interactions as Cross helped her take a seat beside him. As he did, her eyes caught a glimpse of something underneath the sleeves of her dress.

_Bandages?_

Not knowing what to make of it, Celia left quickly after, closing the door quietly after herself and forgetting about that strange sight for the rest of the day.

* * *

"She's... _dying_?"

There wasn't any stopping the wails of so many children after such news. From young to old, the children under Madame's care felt uneasiness crawling into them at the news of what would eventually be their caretaker's fate.

Celia herself couldn't believe the news either. It'd been another couple of months since she noticed Madame's illness but she thought it was one that would pass much like the ones that struck them at times. But this was different. At least that's how the brothel women made it sound after the doctor's home visit.

Malignant. Untreatable. Terminal.

Endless hours on end of reading told her well enough what those words meant in regards to Red's health. And though many wept, Celia remained stoic as could be to instead console the young children that looked up to her. Many couldn't keep as much of a straight face though. Rosalia sorely included. She and many of the older girls couldn't help their tears as the children came to Madame's bedside to say their goodbyes. Many of the brothel women had to keep the younger kids at bay before they could swarm their caretaker which left her and the other older girls to stand at her bedside.

Amethyst eyes fixated on the weakened figure that now laid in bed. A sickly hue painted her once youthful face. Dark coffee-colored eyes once bright with life were now dull and sunken. Beautiful crimson hair laid disheveled despite being tied to one side to rest over her shoulder and away from her face. A gorgeous woman once so lively and bright laid bedridden and sickly and it turned Celia's stomach to see her in such a way.

"M-M-Madame…"

"P-Please g-get better soon."

"P-P-Please, we'll b-be good."

"Shh." Madame Red's whisper was barely audible over their cries but when they heard it, the bunch of them quieted as best they could to hear her words. "Everything is going to be alright. I've taught you all how to take care of yourselves and each other and your older sisters from the brothel will surely take care of you once I'm gone."

The sole reminder of what would inevitably happen brought the wailings anew. Though the words coming from her almost brought her over the edge themselves, Celia took a deep breath to keep the tears from pouring and instead stayed by Madame's side. Even when the women took the children to bed, even when the older girls couldn't stand staying there anymore as they watched by the hour their caretaker wither away, Celia stayed taking care of her as best she knew how to.

If only to ease her pain as she slowly slipped away. As day turned to night, she remained knowing full well there was nothing left for her to do except wait.

It was the early hours of the morning then, only a short month after the diagnosis, that Celia was rudely awoken by a sharp pricking on her head. Waking with a yelp, she slapped at whatever was on her head and caught Timcanpy when he fell on her lap as she sat beside the bed. Uttering his name under her breath, her tired brain connected the dots easily enough when she raised her gaze to see _him_.

Cross had been sorely missing the whole time that Madame took sick and though not unusual for a man that came and went however he pleased, Celia couldn't help but hate him more and more when Madame would utter his name under her breath during her delirium. Now that he was here though, a strange sense of relief washed over her as she set Timcanpy down on the floor and shook Madame's arm to wake her.

"Madame, Madame." But the relief was quickly beginning to vanish the longer she shook her with no response. Dread bit away at her heart as her chest tightened. Not wanting to accept it, Celia shook her harder. "Red, wake up. Cross is here. He's finally here. You've gotta wake up."

But she didn't. And it wasn't until she took in the fact of how cold her arm felt underneath her grasp that the reason finally hit her. A much larger hand came over hers and pried them off of her cold arm. Cross brushed Red's dull hair away from her face and leaned over to place a tender kiss on her forehead before gently covering her entirely with the sheet she'd been sleeping with.

It wasn't until she saw the sheet fall and nothing else rise that Celia's tears poured from her. Drops fell on the satin sheets as they rolled off her cheeks at last along with sobs she couldn't help yelling.

Red was gone.

And all Celia could do now was weep while a round ball rubbed against her leg.

* * *

Things weren't quite the same after Madame Red passed away. Though the brothel kept functioning and the woman that took over as matron upheld Red's way of doing things, everything seemed off. Almost like they were all walking down a tightrope that was ready to snap at any second.

Celia managed to compose herself after the funeral and kept loyal to her duties. More now than ever, she took care of the young children and helped them deal with their sorrow the best way she knew how to. The older ones were a completely different story. It was simply impossible for anybody to console them. They wouldn't listen to the brothel girls much less her when they urged them to grieve but not let this overwhelm them. But no matter what anybody said they remained as inconsolable as the day that Madame died.

The months that followed didn't change that. Time just seemed to make things worse. Having a hard time sleeping nowadays herself, Celia took a trip to the kitchen for some warm milk when she spotted the familiar figure. It took her a solid moment until she realized that she'd just seen Rosalia sneaking out of the manor in the dead of night.

_What the hell is she thinking?_

They had always been told that leaving the manor at night was a big mistake. The men that lingered about wouldn't care about their age or who's brothel they belonged to. All they would see would be young women for the taking. And she would call her stupid all night if it weren't for the fact that she was now sneaking out to follow after Rosalia herself.

"Damnit," she muttered under her breath as she snuck across the street and out of the Red Light District to follow after the faint light that the girl took with her that acted now as her beacon.

Despite the countless times of venturing the streets of their hometown over the last year, it became a completely different story now that everything was shrouded in darkness. She would've been truly lost had it not been for the lantern that guided both their ways. Soon though it stopped in the place she least expected it to.

_The cemetery?_

Celia had been to it once and could not wipe the sight of it from her mind. Not even in the dark of night did it lose its eeriness. Hiding behind a lone tree, she watched Rosalia from afar as she stopped before a tombstone. One that took her a moment to recognize in the dark as Madame's grave.

_What is she—_

The faint sound of weeping gave away the answer. A part of her stood still, awestruck at what she now witnessed. Celia knew she was still grieving but nothing suggested that she was this forlorn. A side of her wanted to stop Rosalia, to somehow urge them to understand that even with her gone, they had to keep going. Somehow. But another, the same part that still grieved itself, convinced her not to.

It convinced her to leave her be—to let her grieve how she believed it'd be best for her. And it convinced her to make the one decision she would regret for the rest of her life.

It convinced her to leave.

Three days later, a ruckus woke her up brusquely and made Celia shoot up from her bed. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness that bathed the room she shared with the children but when they did, they frantically searched for where that noise came from. After a minute of nothing more, she breathed a sigh of relief.

_Just the wind._

Or that would've been her final say on it had she not heard it again just as she laid her head upon her pillow. Louder now and coming from downstairs. It'd gotten loud enough to rouse the other children and frightened them upon hearing it. Shushing them, she asked them to stay there while she went to go alert the women from the brothel. Surely a customer stumbled into the other side of the house. It'd happened before, her thundering heartbeat told her which she retold to the children. It's just that.

It served the purpose of calming them down enough for her to don her slippers and trot out of their room with a candle in hand. Leaping three steps at a time to get downstairs faster, she got to the door that separated the brothel and the manor quickly. Once she stood before it with her hand on the doorknob, however, she froze when a strange foreboding struck her.

It felt like electricity running down her spine and making her skin feel like millions of ants were crawling under it. A shock of sorts that came faster than she could think urged her to step away. Urged her to turn left instead and run far down into the room to the left.

To Madame's old room.

Her grip on the doorknob slackened as her dread grew tenfold at the distorted voice that begged her to listen. Though unintelligible gibberish, there wasn't any denying the urgency it spoke with.

And Celia couldn't deny her gut feeling.

It spurred her to a sprint down the hall, her candle forgotten and dropped in the middle of the floor to roll away as she rushed through the long hallway and burst through the door. Despite the darkness that swallowed the room there wasn't any mistaking those bright red eyes that pierced through the shadows. And absolutely nothing hid the stench that rushed past her the instant she opened the door.

One that she recognized strangely quick the moment it hit her nostrils.

_Blood..._

That dank odor given off by fresh blood was hard to miss just as much as the crunching noises that echoed from within the room. Finally, her eyes adjusted and widened the instant she saw what was inside.

Because that _thing_ was not human. It looked human, lithe, and donning a fancy dress, but instead of a human's, a spider's head hovered over its shoulders. The couple of eyes that she saw turned to her then as six more opened wide and stared directly at her. Celia froze as from underneath its skirts several razor-sharp legs appeared. Frozen as she was though, it wasn't the eyes fixated on her or the monster she saw before her that caused it. The mangled bodies that laid on the floor beneath it did. Bodies that she recognized despite their state. The other girls; the older ones. With one starkly missing from the group.

One that her mind and that strange electricity from before convinced her to be true.

"...Rosalia…?"

It charged.

Celia instinctively shut the door in its face. That didn't stop it as much as she hoped. It crashed through the instant it collided, even crashing through the door of the room across from how fast it went head first. Not waiting to see what became of it, she darted across the hallway but just as she made it halfway up the stairs, the monster crashed from underneath and blocked her path. It howled loudly before the bottom half of its face rotated into a different expression. A feral grin.

"What a delicious little morsel."

Celia stood at a standstill but her head instantly snapped towards the rooms when the shrieks of children rose in the air. She opened her mouth to scream at them to run but the word wasn't even out of her lips when the thing rushed towards them. All it took was a moment before screams of terror filled the manor and chilled her blood. A ruckus ensued like dominoes falling against each other the moment the doors separating the brothel opened to let even more people in. This time she didn't waste time with her warning.

"Run! It's killing—"

Before she could even finish, smaller spiderlings crawled from above towards the first floor and attacked them, mauling them with their overly large mandibles. The scent of blood thickened as the screams rang louder, both invading Celia's senses and causing her to lose her footing. Stumbling down on the stairs, she huffed when she hit the ground below. Before panic could overtake her though, she ran back from where she'd come from towards Madame's room.

The moment she made it in, she skirted past the mangled bodies left behind and burst through the small room that led to the veranda outside. _Away,_ her mind screamed, _get away!_ But just as her feet hit the back alleys that connected the manor to the District, the walls burst open giving way for the monsters to block her path and corner her in the dead end.

Celia retreated slowly with shaky legs as her heart pounded violently in her chest. Looking about, she picked up the first thing she could find, a broken pipe that had fallen in the wreckage, and wielded it with a tremulous grip. It stared for a moment before it's jaw rotated from the growling mouth to the grinning lips as they opened.

"...Ce...lia…"

The guttural sound shook her to her core but a part of her froze at the sound of her name spilling from its lips. Though it grinned ferally something didn't seem right as it kept repeating her name and slowly making its way towards her. It was grinning but its eyes—

_It's crying._

"You're...in pain…"

"..Re...d...p-plea...se...wake...u-up…he's...h-h-here…."

Those words froze her in place the moment she recognized them. They were hers—her last words to Madame Red. Realizing that finally made something click into place. Something that, for as unbelievable as it seemed, was the only thing that made sense to her.

_That thing isn't Rosalia._

"You're Red."

"Ce...lia…" The tears that poured out its eyes turned crimson as the rest of it shone in a bright color as well, hardening around its body and making it gleam red in the moonlight. "...please…"

Electricity rushed through her body and her veins at the quiet plea. Suddenly, the grip on the broken pipe was set ablaze. Instinctively, she let go but even when her grip slackened, the pain that rushed from the palm of her hand didn't. It took her looking down to realize why.

Pure white feathers burst from her palms engulfing the pipe faster than she could think of. The feathers hurt as they crawled from her palms, green electricity flashing through them and the pipe as they engulfed it. The rusted and broken metal turned pure white once completely taken over as from both ends rugged blades manifested from the feathers. The weapon felt heavy in her hands and her chest tightened at the sight of it, but a voice louder than any other spoke as that fluorescent green electricity rushed through its blades.

_**Innocence.** _

Red's monster spoke then as its feral smile split even tauter and cried even more.

"...pl...ease...kill...me…"

Celia's grip on the weapon tightened as tears spilled down her cheeks. She didn't want to. That thing...even when it didn't look it, it was Red. It recognized her.

_**It's not her**_ _,_ the voice muttered barely able to speak itself. _**She's chained to this world...unable to rest.**_

_Unable...to rest?_

Her grip tightened further as more feathers sprouted from the force of it. But even as her resolve came, she couldn't stop the tears that spilled as she took the weapon in both her hands and stood her ground as the monster charged while crying her name.

* * *

One shot from Judgement.

That was enough to destroy the Akuma and let Carmine's soul rest in peace. With the raging fire that now consumed the brothel and manor though, Cross managed to make out a small figure poised against the dead-end alley where he'd found the Earl's machine.

He approached it with Judgement at the ready but stopped short when he spotted the familiar brunette brat. Though bloodied, bruised, and barely conscious, there was no doubt that it was one of Carmine's many children. As the blazes of the fire roared not far behind, a sour thought came to mind.

_The only one left more than likely._

The girl's coughing brought his attention back to her as she held her side with one hand and an odd double-bladed spear in the other.

"So it was Innocence, huh," he muttered.

_Don't have the time for it._

Dull amethyst eyes focused on him as she barely managed to lift her head. Streaks of tears marred her face beyond the blood and bruises now that he got a better glimpse at her.

"...R...R-Red…"

"She's gone, kid," Cross assured her as he began unbuttoning his coat. "She's resting now."

She only managed a couple of heavy breathes before completely passing out. Though not his style, Cross couldn't very well leave the brat here. So instead he took her, wrapping her in his coat, and picked her up to take her to the nearest medic. As he rose however the loud clanging of her spear brought his gaze down to it as it clattered on the floor. He leaned over to retrieve it but before he could even touch it, the white that had made it gleam so splendidly dulled and became nothing but black rust that easily crumbled into dust.

_It's gone?_

A small shine from underneath his coat wrapping her told him where to look. Unwrapping her a bit, he only had to take her left hand to find the small cross gleaming from the inside of her wrist. The weapon breaking and her wrist shining brought some sense to the situation.

Crimson eyes narrowed on the cross as it dulled leaving behind only the remnants of what looked like a scar in its place. _It can't be…_ Cross decided not to think of the matter for the moment, tucking the girl with his coat and taking her out of the alleyway to get her the treatment she needed.

* * *

Amethyst eyes shot wide open as a terrible horror struck her at waking. Rousing from the bed she slept on, her breathing came in heavy bouts as her brain began to function properly again. But it was hard to concentrate on anything in particular when nothing whatsoever looked familiar.

_Where…?_

"Oh, thank god you're awake." Celia's head spun towards the kind voice that spoke to find a young woman who looked to be a nurse walking into the tiny room she resided. "We weren't expecting you to wake for another day or two. It's quite a relief all the same. Now, let's see how you are, shall we?"

She paid her no mind as she went about checking her. Instead, she let her mind wander about what had happened before waking up. All at once what happened the night before struck her like a punch in the gut. The nurse immediately tried to console her when she spotted the tears that rolled down her cheeks but Celia didn't last long in her grief when she vaguely recalled the man that had saved her in the dead of night.

"Cross…"

"Mmm?"

"Cross!" she called out louder. "H-He's a grumpy redhead that smells of smoke and alcohol and has this strange pigeon with him!"

"Oh, you mean the gentleman who brought you here last night?"

"Yeah, yeah! Where is he?"

"I wouldn't know, darling," the nurse replied with a puzzled expression. "He came and left you in our care saying clergymen would come for you in three days." _Clergymen?_ "Surely he must have meant the orphanage."

Celia's eyes widened at those words.

"...Orphanage?"

The nurse reacted then, almost as if she'd just realized how much she had let slip. The sudden puzzled expression from before changed into an unpleasant one that Celia did not like. Not in the least.

"I-I'm sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this but...your home—Madame Red's brothel is..."

* * *

" **Stop right there, you mangy excuse of a priest!"**

It worked. Celia didn't know how but the sudden outburst she let out the instant she spotted Cross just on the outskirts of town managed to stop him dead in his tracks. He donned a black hat that kept his face hidden but even with it there wasn't any hiding himself when he used such a gaudy coat with that fat ball floating around him.

Crimson eyes met amethyst as they glared up at him the moment she caught up to him. It was something easy to do frankly with the only thing holding her back being the simple change of clothes she snatched from the hospital. Now in front of the ever-elusive man, Celia didn't let her grieve take over her.

That was a job for her rage.

"You saved me," she said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, and you sounding rather displeased by the fact tells me I'm about to get an earful from a seven-year-old."

"You should've just let me die in that alley!" she shouted, unable to take his sarcasm now.

"You would've survived with or without my help, brat. Your fighting back was proof enough. I just happen to be around to expedite the process."

"Fighting back?! But I didn't want to fight back!" Her eyes pricked with the unshed tears that began to pool in them, but before they could spill over, she used that pain to hastily roll up her left sleeve. Once exposed, she shoved the scarred cross on the inside of her wrist towards him. "The only reason I did was because of this _thing_!"

"I am aware," he replied nonchalantly which only fed her anger. "And it's because of that that I called the clergymen."

"You didn't lie to the nurse then. You _are_ a priest."

"Of sorts." Cross took a couple of steps to reach her before reaching the tailcoats of his coat to part it and show her his holstered gun. "That cross on your hand? It's called Innocence. It's a substance similar to my Judgement. It's a weapon."

Celia's eyes lost a bit of their fire as she glared at her scar before looking up and comparing it to the cross insignia on his gun. Though detailed differently, she could certainly see the similarities.

"And that thing that attacked you last night was an Akuma."

"A demon?"

"No, an _Akuma_. They're killing machines made up of a dead soul that was brought back possessing a living body."

A dead soul— _Red_ —possessing a living body— _Rosalia._ It was crazy. Beyond crazy. Yet it made sense in a crazy kind of way too.

Calming down as the information sunk in her head, she let her wrist fall to her lap as what that meant sunk in as well.

"So it was Red then…who attacked everyone. It's because of her the manor is gone and everyone is..."

Cross looked at her for a second as her words trailed off before heaving a large sigh and crouching down in front of her. Noticing this, Celia lifted her gaze as the tears spilled once more from that final bit of information hitting her.

"Carmine wasn't in control anymore after that girl called out to her. They weren't at fault. And neither are you if you think you could've changed anything about the outcome."

_But I could have…_

"You...fight those things too?"

"I do. And a whole group of others does too. The clergymen I sent to the hospital for you will take you where they gather."

"Take me?"

"You can't stay here anymore." Cross tapped one finger against the cross on her wrist for emphasis. "Now that your Innocence has activated, it'll only attract more Akuma to you and even more people will suffer the same way the whole of the manor did. You'll need to go somewhere you'll be safe and where they'll be able to train you to fight against them. The Black Order will do that; they'll train you to be an Exorcist like me."

_Exorcist...like him?_

"Can't...can't _you_ train me?"

"No can do," he said decidedly. "I don't take brats."

"Please!" Celia's desperate cries stopped him in his tracks and made him lock his gaze with hers. Though her amethyst eyes were still puffy from crying, no more tears fell after her exclamation. If anything, they shone with a determination that he wasn't aware she still had. "I'll be an Exorcist. I'll learn to fight and beat those things. I promise I will. But the only way I'll do it is if you train me, Cross! So please take me with you!"

Crimson narrowed and scrutinized the little girl for a moment before roughly taking her scarred wrist into his hand and showing it to her.

"This Innocence? I know it as well as my own. I know the kind of work, time, and sacrifice it takes to even begin to master it. Over at Headquarters, they'll give you that time. They'll see to your needs properly. I won't."

"But you said it yourself," Celia countered instantly, yanking her wrist away from his hold. "You know it as well as your own. Who better to teach me?"

"I won't go easy on you even if you're a brat."

"I can take it."

"You'll be crying by week's end to be sent to Headquarters if I train you."

"It'll be much less than what I've cried this whole day after what I saw was left of the manor and the others."

She wasn't letting up. She wouldn't let it up. Celia was determined to stand her ground. Either she would learn from the man that she came to know over the past year or she would refuse it altogether. There would be no in-between.

Cross looked at her for a moment longer before groaning and standing back up. "Don't say I didn't warn you." Amethyst eyes grew wide, a smile pulling at her lips at what his words meant. "And if you cry or complain a single time in front of me, I'll send you to them no questions asked."

"It won't happen, I promise."

"Don't promise things, kid. Not when you can't be sure that you'll keep your word. Now come on, the next station is in the town over and I've got a train to catch."

Springing to a jog, Celia followed behind Cross as he led the way out of town. Timcanpy flew around a few times before bouncing on the floor to wrap his tail around her waist and fly like a kite around her. It wasn't even a few minutes of them walking when a sudden thought invaded her mind.

"What should I call you?"

"Huh?" he called, already irritated enough about his whole predicament as it was. "What the hell do you mean?"

"I know your name's Cross Marian because of Madame but should I call you anything now that you're taking me up to train me? Like, I don't know, master or teacher?"

"Call me whatever you like. It won't last anyway."

Her cheeks puffed with annoyance but deflated to call out to him with, "Mangy priest."

"Alright, it's either name or title. No third option or else I'll kick you to the curb, brat."

"Cross then. And stop calling me 'brat', I have a name!"

"Not much of a name when it wasn't even one you remember."

That he said that caught her enough off guard to stop in her tracks with eyes wide as he stopped a few steps ahead to glance at her over his shoulder.

"How do you know?" she asked, her voice barely anything above a whisper.

"Carmine told me about finding you all battered and with memory loss to the extent that she had to name you herself." He tilted his head to one side when he saw hers fall dejected. "Just Celia, right?" She nodded just as sullenly. "Might as well pick a last name. You'll need it eventually."

Celia bit her bottom lip as she thought about it while staring at Timcanpy who was now sitting in front of her after having stopped.

"What was Red's name?"

"Red's?" Her nod made him avert his gaze for a moment before answering her. "Carmine Valentine."

Wringing her hands in each other, Celia pondered about it for a moment before asking, "Do you think...do you think it would be okay...if I took it after her?"

"What are you asking me for?" When that didn't seem to be the answer to get her walking, he groaned before choosing a different set of words. "You remember the day she found you?" Celia nodded perplexed. "Carmine told me that you guys chose that day to be your birthday since you didn't know yours. Do you remember what day that is?"

"February the 14th…"

"Do you know what people celebrate on that day?"

She shook her head fervently.

"Saint Valentine's." Amethyst eyes slowly widened at his words, a glint making them glimmer in the light of the day. "So if you're asking me whether it'd be okay, I'd say Carmine gave it to you when she took you into the manor."

A warmth swelled in her chest at that, her hands cradling against her bosom as she repeated the words. _Celia Valentine._ A small smile came to her lips which soon bubbled to laughter when Timcanpy bumped against her with a dumb grin splitting his face. Wrapping her arms around the fat ball and picking him up, Celia smiled back at Cross.

"Then...Celia Valentine. That's—That's who I'll be from now on!"

Cross scoffed before giving her his back to continue on their way. Celia tightened her grip on Timcanpy who licked at her cheek before running to catch up with her new teacher.

* * *

**|It would take 4191 days for 'Celia Valentine' to follow in her footsteps and die.|**


	2. Twists of Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a itsy bitsy mistake last chapter with the days of the first person. I'm no good with math -w-. So give it a quick glance when you can :)

_**Prima Materia** _

**Two.** _Twists of Fate_

* * *

**|Twelve months later. Edinstown, England|**

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Celia skidded a corner, dangerously close to tumbling to the floor had her hands not bounced her right back up giving her a second wind. Heavy footfalls echoed in the streets as the large man chasing after her kept up with her surprisingly well.

"YOU'RE PAYING ME THAT DAMN TAB, YOU BRAT!"

"...damn it, you mangy priest..."

But there wasn't a use berating Cross. It was just a damn waste of air at this point.

A growl high above got her to look up and spot Timcanpy flying over the rooftops of the city. The hint of a smile curled her lips but it was gone when a shoe got thrown at her from behind. Ducking out of its way, Celia chased after Tim who somehow zigzagged her through alleyways to lose the innkeeper long enough to hide behind a pile of crates. Celia crouched and clasped her hands over her mouth to quiet her hasty breaths in time to watch the heavyset man jog right past her with heavy pants.

Celia counted to ten, then breathed a large sigh of relief.

Another growl caught her attention as from above, Timcanpy hovered down by her side and smacked his tail against her leg, wanting her to carry him. A scream lodged in her throat from the frustration. Swallowing it, she saved it instead, knowing that once she found Cross, she'd have exactly the target to yell at. Celia took a moment to peek out of the corner of her hiding spot before hauling Tim by his tail and dragging him along as she casually walked into the crowd.

"Now… where would I find a church..."

Her eyes wandered through the morning crowd she encountered, head snapping every which way in search of an edifice with even the faintest resemblance to said place of worship. But this was a far larger town than she was used to which left her at quite a loss. Glancing over her shoulder, she tugged at Tim's tail.

"Which way?" He garbled something, she nodded and responded "East it is," before heading said way.

Cross had the gall before to leave her alone wherever they stayed. Private clergyman matters, he claimed. Celia knew better than to believe him. They'd gotten a room at an inn near the Red Light District, after all. A year taught her plenty of his womanizing ways. But that aside, he seldom left her there without a coin to pay lodgings with. Times like those she either lied her way through another night or ran. And since the big fat man didn't believe her, Celia resorted to running.

Now, it was a matter of finding Cross. And the single-sentence note of _'At the church'_ only gave her so much to work with. Stopping briefly, Celia let go of Timcanpy's tail and grumbled under her breath, adjusting the child-sized cloak covering her from England's biting winter cold. A puff of white formed at her exasperated exhales as she rubbed her gloved hands against one another for warmth.

The thought of asking around came to mind but the dread of speaking to others quickly snuffed that idea out. How hard could it be to find a church anyway?

"Ah..."

A sudden rush of electricity spun her around. Her eyes darted everywhere, getting a feel of the charge that coursed through her and stopping when she noted where it felt the most uncomfortable. Hauling Tim in her arms, Celia darted after that uncomfortable sensation, knowing exactly what it was. In the past year, it was common to feel the electricity coursing through her every other day. It'd been strange at first, but eventually, its meaning became clear.

White puffs of air exited her mouth through short pants as she stood before a tall edifice with large, wooden doors and beautiful stained-glass windowpanes. A cross was depicted high in the glass surrounded by angelic figures.

"A church..."

A rather lonesome one at that. There wasn't another soul in sight despite her having left the crowded city center just minutes ago. All those thoughts, however, ran out of her head the instant a gunshot exploded within the walls and rattling the windows.

Afraid, Celia stood in place, her hand instantly shooting upwards to the hairpin decorating the bun on her head. The echoes of the gunshot rang for a little bit longer before she had the courage to grasp the hairpin in her hand and walk towards the door with Timcanpy hovering close by. Trembling fingers grasped the cold metal handles and after a second to brace herself, pushed the door open.

The old wood creaked at being forced and Celia took a moment to peek inside, Timcanpy landing atop her head and peeking in himself. Dust flew away in the gust of wind her opening the door created. A mess of webs hung furthest away from the entrance and stuck at the center were a set of clothes. Priest's garments. Celia had seen them too many times not to recognize them. And walking away from it was Cross.

Relief washed over her, pulling an unknown smile to her lips as she shoved the door open enough to run inside. "C-" His name died in her throat the moment she noticed his hand on Judgement, his index finger still on the trigger. Her gait slowed and stopped before reaching the first row of pews where Cross met her.

The redhead man took a long swig of his cigarette and blew it away before looking down at her. "You manage to get yourself a free night?"

Amethyst eyes didn't even spare him a glance, instead fixated on the clothes remaining. "Was that...a person…?"

His crimson gaze fell on her for a moment before he holstered his Innocence and breathed out smoke without taking away the cigarette from his mouth. "An Akuma was harboring itself here."

Her chest felt heavy at the insinuation of what happened to the priest those clothes belonged to. Carefully, she took Timcanpy off her head and placed him on the banister closer to Cross before walking towards the webs. Cross didn't bother to chide her or try convincing her otherwise.

Akuma weren't new to her. But ever since her first encounter, she couldn't help the melancholy that came over her at the thought of them. Who had they been? Someone's mother? Father? Child? Friend?

It pained her to think of the kind of soul forced to act upon someone else's behalf. Nothing but a weapon for some senseless slaughter. Closing her eyes, Celia pressed her palms together and sent a quiet prayer for the priest who'd just passed and for the Akuma's soul Cross had just released. Doing that, however, forced her to look at the metal hairpin now stuck between her hands.

_Am I really gonna have to do what he does?_

Celia examined the metal hairpin in her hands for a moment. A gift from Cross—the only gift, really—it was something that helped her better handle her Innocence. But for as useful as it was and for as excellent a teacher as Cross was, none of it took away the fear and hesitance holding her back still. Oftentimes she boasted to him that she could fight, if only he let her, but Cross saw right through her lies.

" _You're too much of a bleeding heart. It'll get you killed before you even draw the glaive."_

Her footsteps echoed in the empty church as they hit the finely tiled floor on her way back to Cross. Timcanpy clasped its mouth shut when she got close enough, Cross glancing over his shoulder as she stopped behind them.

"What is it?" he asked with an irate tone to his voice.

"Do you feel anything when you shoot them?"

He took a deep inhale, his cigarette burning scarlet before he exhaled the large cloud of smoke that Timcanpy bit at by hovering a few inches off the banister each time.

"Feelings are going to get you killed. Carve them out now that you can. You'll be better off in the long run."

"But...they were people, too. Just like Red and Rosalia." Her mind was a mess trying to figure out just how to feel about what her role in all of this was. The thought made her hold on her hairpin tighten until her knuckles whitened. "Do you think they're in pain when we kill them?"

Cross, finally having enough of their conversation, exhaled the last puff of smoke before crushing the bud of his cigarette against the banister. With ease and unbelievable speed, his hand shot down to his holster. Celia reacted purely by instinct when she saw that.

A gunshot rang through the stone walls, a pillar crumbling at the new hole made by a lodged bullet. Smoke rose from Judgement's barrel. All Celia could do was pant, panicked, and hold onto her double-sided glaive tight, the blade ringing from having blocked the bullet and deviated its trajectory.

"W-What the heck!?" she cried out, rubbing her hands together around the black pole of her glaive to ease the itching left behind by the recoil.

"What did I tell you about asking stupid questions?"

"But I wanna know!"

"Do you want me to shoot at you again?"

Celia shut her mouth then, pursing her lips as she held her glaive closer to her chest. The large blades made balancing it hard but she let the bottom one fall on the floor to ease the carrying of the top one.

Sheepishly, her gaze averted away from his menacing gaze and ended up on the blades of her weapon. Unlike the rougher versions made of whatever random object she could find lying around, this one was easier to summon, though why it took the form it did was beyond her.

Training and using the metal hairpin as a conduit made it easier to use, though. According to Cross, her Innocence could turn anything she touched into a weapon without a need for what he called a conduit. But creating such rough weapons without something to focus on constantly wasted too much stamina, not to mention were much easier to break. The hairpin— something Cross claimed was crafted of a special kind of metal and some of her blood—didn't turn to dust like random pipes or sticks did and it lessened the burden on her body.

So despite being a bit too big of a weapon for her now, Cross assured her in the past that with lots of strenuous training, she'd eventually be able to wield it with ease.

He never mentioned whether time and training would also make it easier to kill machines that used to be human and had human souls in them though. Celia supposed that knowing they were liberating them from unwanted earthly chains was a relief, though it didn't erase from her mind the pained look on Red's Akuma when she stabbed it with her blade.

Shaking her head to chase away those dark thoughts, Celia undid her activation and made the hairpin return with relative ease. Wiping at her nose, she sniffled, Tim coming to tackle her gently to force her to hold him before she looked up at him.

"Now what?"

"Nothing to do but keep moving forward," he said under his breath, letting his coat be blown by the wind as he opened the door leading out of the church.

* * *

"Cross." Celia patiently waited a full second after tugging at his coat. When he didn't even glance at her and simply kept gazing ahead, she pouted. "Cross!" Nothing again. Her cheeks puffed angrily. What the heck was he even staring at? Taking a deep breath, Celia readied to do what she rarely did: throw a tantrum.

"Cross. Cross. Cross. Cross. Cross. Cross. Cross. Cross. Cross. Cross. Mangy pri—"

"WHAT?!"

Celia released his coat and rubbed her belly under her cloak. "I'm hungry."

Instantly she hid behind him, grasping at his coattails to keep him from shooting at her with Judgement. But to her amazement, his fingers only twitched annoyed next to his gun. Instead, he sighed and reached into his pockets procuring a few bills and passing them along to her. Celia took them in her hands while owlishly blinking at the cash in them.

"Better make that last," he chided as he held a newly lit cigarette between his fingers. "It's all I'm giving you for the month."

Her shoulders instantly fell. The mound of money didn't look all that big all of a sudden. Resigning herself to his stinginess, Celia had one foot on the staircase leading away when Cross stopped her.

"Celia?"

"Mm?"

"Stay away from the clown." Amethyst eyes blinked back at him quizzically, but he ignored then and simply shooed her off with a wave of his hand, the streak of smoke following his movement. "Go."

Albeit confused, Celia listened, calling out she'd be back and that he better not leave her behind before climbing down the stairs and into the crowd before them. Walking through the crowd, she counted the bills he gave her, smiling a bit at the amount as she mumbled to herself.

"Guess he doesn't like clowns."

Going off on a sprint, she got stopped in her tracks when she suddenly bumped into someone. Luckily, she managed to save herself the fall but apologized deeply to the older girl that stood before her now.

"It's alright," she said with a kind smile. "No harm done."

 _Beautiful_ was the thought that crossed Celia's mind as the girl easily walked past her after that. She'd never seen eyes like hers before. Like pools of gold.

Her stomach suddenly growling snatched her thoughts away once again as she hurried to find any nearby food carts. Luckily for her, one selling some neat smelling turkey legs was close. She bought one and dug in immediately, sitting down for a moment to wolf it down like it'd be her last meal. Quickly done and buying another, she thought of returning to Cross now that her stomach was more appeased. But his odd comment added with her curiosity of the gathered crowd brought her closer to them instead. From where she stood and amongst so many adults, she could only spot balls flying in the air every so often.

Biting away at her turkey leg, Celia looked for another opening and walked over to the first she found, making her way to the front to catch a glimpse of what the crowd was going crazy about. Her gaze widened instantly when she saw the clown before her performing. Never did she think a street clown's performance would ever be something she'd describe as beautiful or elegant or mesmerizing.

This clown was all that and even more words she couldn't think of. The way he danced around juggling and how he magically made flowers and stars appear from thin air was enthralling. And the cute dog he had beside him decked in his own little outfit and juggling a ball on his nose was just delightful to boot. Without thinking, Celia found herself giggling alongside the gathered crowd. As flyers suddenly sprung forth, he cordially invited them all to the circus.

_Circus?_

That wasn't a word she knew. Not from books nor that weird part of her brain that just knew things sometimes. Such a mystery truly got her thinking about what it could be. Would more clowns like this one be there? Just as pretty and fun to watch?

Excited about something for once, Celia bent down meaning to pick one of the flyers from the floor when, while raising her head, something wet touched her nose. Taken by surprise, she let out a yelp, the flyer and the leg she had barely taken a bite almost falling from her grasp. The flyer, though, swayed to the floor as the dog that had spooked her sat before her panting.

Suddenly, the dog's nose twitched as he smelled the air, catching a whiff of her turkey leg on the floor. As if asking for permission, his cute beady eyes looked up at her pleadingly making her chuckle.

"You can have it, little guy. I can always buy another." Carefully, she lowered the leg onto the sidewalk for him to take.

Barking once, he went on to eat away at the leg for a good minute. While he did that, Celia crouched down before it, cheeks blushing thinking at just how soft his shiny fur would be. Her hand slowly reached out to his head as he ate away at the leg but stopped when he suddenly looked up from it. Both froze and looked at each other. To her surprise, he carelessly licked the palm of her hand and rubbed his head against it before going back to eat. More at ease about it, Celia petted him a couple of times before fully scratching his ears. A chuckle escaped her at how his hind leg thumped the ground every time she scratched the nape of his neck.

"You're a cute pup."

It was amazing how fast he ate that leg which brought an end to their petting session quick enough. Celia stood understanding this and expected him to go back to his owner, but before he did, he waddled over to a flyer, picked it up in his mouth, and brought it back to her. Carefully, she took it and smiled at the dog. "Thanks, buddy."

He barked once and leaped away gleefully. Going back into the crowd intending to head back to Cross, she read the flyer the pup had given her. Garvey's Circus, it promoted. Apparently their circus would be in town until Christmas. A few days then, she surmised if she remembered her calendar correctly. Luckily they were staying a few days too.

_Wait, lucky?_

No, her brain chided, you heard what Cross told you. No clowns. But as she held the flyer in her hands, some slobber still clinging to it, a dangerous thought came to mind.

"One day won't hurt."

Plus, what was wrong with having fun for one night?

* * *

Cross left early that afternoon.

He was doing that more often nowadays. Saying he needed to be somewhere and that he'd be back when he was done. This time she made sure not let him bail on the inn bill, hassling him to leave that before he left.

Stunningly, Cross listened to her. The rather absent look on his face worried her, though. It was easy to notice these changes. Celia liked looking at his face when he wasn't paying attention. He _was_ kind of handsome for a mangy old man. Looking at those crimson eyes especially tended to spring within her a sense of melancholy she couldn't understand. But he never let it show for more than a split second. This time wasn't any different. Scowling down at her, he ordered her to go sleep early and not get in trouble.

"I never do!" she chirped. Certainly, none he was ever aware of anyway.

Today would be one different.

Warm oranges and reds painted the evening sky as the sun began setting after a long day when she ventured out into the streets. Colder now than during the morning, Celia wandered the streets with the flyer in hand, following the crowds that got thicker and thicker along with the cheerful music that grew louder and the artificial lights that became brighter.

A large, colorful tent took a big space in the middle of an open area surrounded by many smaller ones. People shouted and chatted gleefully amongst themselves here. Children skipped ahead, excitement shining in their chubby faces. Stands full of foods she'd never seen lined the way towards the main tent's entrance. Her mouth watered and eyes gleamed at the sight of such delicious looking snacks. Taken by it all, Celia stopped by each stand using the cash Cross gave her to get one of everything. Just as she was finishing wolfing down cotton candy that just melted in her mouth like a sweet, scrumptious cloud, a voice boomed over the crowd as the last performance of the day was soon to start.

Celia trotted after the crowd, doing as they did to buy a ticket, and made her way inside the tent to find an empty seat. But as soon as she sat down, she shrunk into her cloak. It felt weird to be amongst the crowd. Not just because of the fear the knowledge of Akuma instilled in her but because it was honestly embarrassing to be here alone.

Families were gathered to watch a performance and spend time together, and here she was, a kid all by her lonesome. Her shoulders slumped at the somber thought. It was funny how her amnesia was never forefront in her mind except when it hurt the most. She supposed that living in a world with killing machines and a weapon to kill them in her hand took precedence. Still, she wondered from time to time when watching others during their travels what it would be like to have a normal life.

To be a child with parents, siblings, and a dog to play with. To go to school and learn. To be able to laugh without the notion of danger and death hovering over her head constantly. It was always a matter of 'what ifs' that were always shortly followed by 'hows'. How come she didn't have them? How had she ended up in those streets in China? And the loudest one of all: how was she even alive?

Her fingers reached up to the crown of her head where the bumpy scarred skin protruded underneath her hair. All those wounds, all the scars, they had to have come from somewhere. And whatever it'd been, it'd been bad if they were anything to judge things by. So how come...how was she the one here unable to remember a single thing?

The cloud of depression that hung over her vanished as the lights dimmed in the tent. The crowd quieted instantly, only leaving the echo of murmurs behind before everything exploded with energy. So many lights and colors burst into the open, dazzling Celia and leaving her beyond speechless. The clowns from the town square were now joined by many other people as they danced and trapezed in their flamboyant entrance.

"Honored guests! I bid you welcome tonight! The Garvey Circus is open until Christmas!"

To say that it was the most wonderful thing she'd ever seen would be an understatement.

Her cheeks hurt from how much she'd been laughing and smiling the whole way through. Sadly, it eventually ended and as they were thanked for joining them for the performance, the people started filing out to return home. Knowing Cross wouldn't be home anytime soon yet, Celia stayed behind outside buying some more sweets to take home while waiting for the crowds to subside. With how they were just sweeping by, it'd be no joke if she got swept away by them herself. So with a bag of taffy in one hand, she popped a cherry-flavored one in her mouth and stopped by a bare tree.

Hidden by the shadow the tents cast, Celia leaned back on the cold bark and chewed away. Families passed by her unknowingly, none questioning what a child was doing by herself so late at night. But they were far too fixated on their own little worlds to notice her. That same melancholy from before the show struck her, her gaze falling as her mind wondered what it'd be like.

Madame Red and the girls and children from the brothel came to mind briefly. Family took care of each other, right? Perhaps that's what it was like to have one. Though she didn't think the bullying she suffered counted. Cross was...well, Cross. Celia doubted he counted. He was more her teacher than a father, really. At least she hoped she didn't have a father like that.

Thinking so much made her heave a long sigh as she crouched down in place and leaned her forehead against her knees. Tears pricked in her eyes threatening to fall and wiping them did nothing but make them come faster. Anger rose in her chest at how fickle her emotions were, and in it, Celia couldn't help it when she threw the bag of candy with all her might towards the darkness behind the tents. Crouching back down, she took a deep breath.

_I'm an idiot._

Getting angry with herself for feeling sad was dumb. But throwing stuff did make her feel better. It wasn't an excuse though.

"I should head back…"

Just as she was about to rise from her spot, a rough wet tongue licked her face the instant she lifted her head. Hair sticking every which way with saliva, amethyst eyes blinked puzzled at the dog panting before her.

_It's...you._

"You're that dog."

He barked before tackling her down easily from her crouching and lashing away at her face with his tongue. Laughter erupted from her as she struggled to push the pup away. Despite how slimy his tongue felt, there wasn't any denying that his presence made her anger and sadness slowly disappear. After a good minute, the dog backed off, sitting just a short foot in front of her as she sat up from the cold ground.

With a chuckle, she watched as the dog suddenly up and trotted away into the shadows before coming back with her bag of candy in his mouth. As if nothing, he dropped it before her.

"Thank you."

Again he barked, then out of nowhere sprinted off elsewhere. Smiling after him, Celia got up and brushed the snow from herself, feeling in a much better mood to finally go back to the inn. As she turned, however, the barking came back. Turning around only got her a ball smacked right dead center in her face.

Celia groaned as she held onto her face. It hadn't hurt all that much but the surprise attack had been enough to hurt her pride. Her glare didn't last long when the dog swiftly grabbed the purple ball with yellow stars in his mouth and started bouncing it on his snout. A chuckle bubbled from her, belying her irritation. Hearing this, the dog stopped, balancing the ball on his snout as he stood on his hind legs. Celia clapped at its performance, giggling as the dog finally grabbed it in his mouth again and came to stand normally on all fours.

"You're a very random dog, but you're very funny and cute, too."

The pup barked again, the sound muffled by the ball, before strutting up to her and jumping on her, its front legs leaning on her chest. Without warning, it woofed again and pressed the ball and his cold, wet nose against hers.

"What—" Getting off, the dog circled around in front of her before dropping the ball before her and barking. "Do you...want to play fetch?" He barked again, this time pushing the ball forward to her with his nose. Cautiously, she took the slimy ball in her hands. It wasn't anything special. Just a normal rubber ball with a pretty design. Celia lifted her hand to throw it but when the dog only snorted and barked without moving, another idea clicked in her mind.

"Are you...are you giving it to me?"

Finally, he barked a couple of times before coming forward again and rubbing his head against the back of her hand. Giggling, she scratched behind his ear as he licked the inside of her wrist where the scar of her Innocence was inlaid.

A smile pulled at the corners of her lips as she knelt down to scratch him further and when he came close enough, wrap her arms around him. The pup calmly set his head upon her shoulder without a second thought and sat there complacently.

"You're so warm," she said with a chuckle. Burying her face in his fur, she took a deep breath before letting him go and stepping back up. Toying with the ball in her hands, she waved it in front of him to show with a smile. "I can't possibly keep it. So how about I take it for tonight and give it back to you tomorrow! I kinda wanna come back to see you perform again anyway." That he suddenly started running around her in circles got her laughing again. "Okay, okay, I'll definitely come back and see you. You and your master are quite fun to watch."

He barked one last time before heading out into the back of the tents. Chuckling to herself, Celia took her bag of candies and ball and walked through the now empty streets back to the inn. The ball bounced easily off the asphalt as she played around with it on the way back. But just as she turned a corner, the ball bounced at an angle and took off in a random direction. Chasing after it quickly, Celia caught up to it as it stopped at the feet of some random stranger who picked it up.

Slowing down at seeing them, Celia cautiously approached them, her hand stuck between wanting to reach out for it and wanting to grasp onto her cloak for comfort.

"I-I'm really sorry."

"No need to apologize." The man chuckled under his breath, turning the ball in his hand as he inspected it curiously. "Say, what's a young, little lady like yourself doing out here all alone?"

"I—um...ah!"

Electricity. It ran like a shot straight from the base of her neck to the soles of her feet in less than it took her to blink. It was quick but it'd happened. And what it insinuated made her blood run cold.

_He's…_

"You're...an Akuma."

The friendly smile on the man's face suddenly widened to inhuman proportions until it became too much for his skin to take. Like a cheap mask, the manic grin broke through his flesh as the monstrous machine within morphed to life.

Celia's hands shot upward to her hair, snatching her hairpin and summoning her glaive that felt strangely heavy in her hands now. Though having had so much hellish training at Cross' hands, it was obvious that it still didn't prepare her for what it'd be actually like to fight an Akuma.

Dodging the sudden slashes from its overgrown scythe-like hands, Celia ducked into an alley to better control her environment. Stuck having to squeeze through the narrow alleyway, it was much easier to cut away at it anytime its blades slipped in to try and snatch her. It wasn't until after cutting off one of its bladed appendages that the Akuma yowled before destroying the walls in his way. Amethyst eyes went wide at the sight and she scurried away underneath it as it struggled to loosen itself from the narrowness still.

Now in the open, Celia skidded to a stop and faced the humanoid machine, her grip tight yet shaky on her weapon as it crawled out of the alleyway.

"What a little sweet morsel you'll be!"

It prowled towards her slowly. Its huge feet crushing the asphalt beneath it. Her shaking legs begged her to run. To seek out Cross at the Red Light District where he'd surely be and have him kill this thing. But the more she thought about it, the more she knew how null that option even was. The district was too far. No matter how fast she ran, there was no way she'd get there unharmed. Realistically, she'd die before getting there.

But as her grasp began to tremble with the mere haunting thought of death, the star-patterned ball rolled just at the corner of her vision. Her breath stopped suddenly, eyes widening at the sight.

" _I'll definitely come back and see you."_

Suddenly the electricity rushed through her and out of her hands faster than she could think. The blades on her glaive responded and crackled with green energy as the edges sharpened with an emerald gleam.

This...wasn't the time to be afraid. She needed to be brave now more than ever. Especially if she wanted to keep her promise to that nice, ole pup.

Without warning, the Akuma lunged for her. Taking each thing in stride, Celia did her best to think of everything that Cross had taught her up to that point. Dodging out of its attacks, she spun around, trying to use her height and speed to take a few jabs at it. And they landed—one then another and another. Though superficial, they were growing more and more in number and it only kept getting slower and slower by the minute.

Seeing an opening, Celia sprinted forward at the same time it sluggishly did. Deviating its bladed hand with one of hers, her arms switched positions quickly enough to bring him down before her with her other blade ready to strike. But just as she intended to give the finishing strike, it unhinged its jaw and caught her blade with its razor-sharp teeth. Astonishment and anxiousness mixed in her wide eyes as those teeth dug into her blade.

"You'll have to try harder than that, sweet."

Celia's blood ran cold as he lifted his other bladed hand. Frozen as she was, however, she couldn't even force her weapon free. Not on time.

_No…_

The blades reached their peak and fell down upon her, but at the moment she closed her eyes to bear the brunt of the slashing, a gunshot rang loudly in the air. Her eyes shot wide open as the mark of Judgement's bullet hitting true shone in its head. It bloated, losing its shape quickly as it began to die. With the hold on her glaive loosened enough, Celia yanked it out of its mouth and ran seconds before the Akuma exploded into dark chunks of the body that quickly dissipated into smoke.

Falling back, her Innocence deactivated as it clattered noisily on the street with her. Cross' imposing figure emerged from the vanishing smoke then. Judgment was held aloft close to his shoulder, lowering only after reassuring himself that the one Akuma had been the only one there. He approached her as she stood, his footfalls sounding tremendously loud to her ears.

Or perhaps that was her thundering heartbeat.

Reaching for her hairpin as it laid haphazardly on the ground, her eyes caught sight of the ball not far away and rushed to pick it up. Before she could, though, Cross bent over and snatched it away. Celia's face paled as he gave it a mere glance and sneered down at her.

"I told you to stay away from it."

The deep timbre of his voice suddenly sounded threatening. It wasn't unlike the one he used when he trained her, but it also was way more menacing than that.

"I...I'm sorry." Her voice trembled as did her hands as she grasped the hairpin in them. "I-It won't happen again. I promise..."

"No." He dropped the star-patterned in her hands carelessly forcing her to catch it and look up as he said, "It won't."

* * *

Celia awoke the next morning to a room cleaned out of Cross's belongings and a single letter addressed to her waiting on the coffee table.

' _I'm sending you to Headquarters. Finders will be here by the time you wake up to take you there. And you better listen this time, brat.'_

It was strange but for the second time since Celia had use of conscious memory, tears sprouted from her eyes. But seriously, what did she expect crying to accomplish? It hadn't brought back Red, so what made her think that it would bring the mangy old priest back? Hope, maybe. Yeah, that sounded right. It was hope that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't leave her like Red and the others had after the fire. But that hope was dashed now.

Shattered just as easily as it had been built.

"Miss Celia Valentine. We're here to take you to Headquarters."

As they boarded her into a train, amethyst eyes stared long outside her window at the town she was leaving. The one where Cross left her behind. The one where she fought for the first time with her Innocence. And where she met her first friend.

Celia held the star-patterned ball in her lap as the train began to come to life, ready to depart Edinstown. Tenderly in her grasp, she held it close to her chest trying to remember the warmth of that pup.

_I don't think I'll be able to return this to you. Sorry._

"I hope you have a happy life, buddy."

* * *

**|Under the canals of Paris, France.|**

Dark and damp, these strange underground waterways appeared to run miles upon miles long. Or at least that's what it felt like for Celia in the twenty minutes they'd been rowing after hoisting her onto a longboat. What a shame that she wouldn't get to see Paris yet. It looked like a nice city.

_If I'd come here with Cross, I could've snuck out while he went out drinking._

The dreary reminder of that old man dampened her already weary disposition. It still hurt that after two whole years of knowing each other and the one of traveling together that he would just toss her over like that for disobeying him. It's not like she hadn't done it before either. The fact that Celia couldn't count the times she'd gone behind his back to do something during the last year said something too. Which begged her to ask just what the heck had been so bad about what she did this time?

There wasn't time to wallow in her self pity for much longer. Soon enough, the seemingly long boat ride ended. At the end of the underground canal, Celia spotted what looked like a small docking area near an opening. Two torches stood on either side of the dock where a couple of silhouettes stood waiting. Slowly, the boat docked and Celia jumped out to meet these people.

They were oddly dressed. Red cloaks covered them from head to toe and strange symbols were embroidered on their attire. The two stood rigidly on either side of the opening that she now discerned as a staircase leading up to somewhere.

"The Inspector has been awaiting your arrival, exorcist. Follow us."

That was all they said before turning their backs on her and going ahead. _Rude._ Celia gave a short glance back at the white-cloaked Finders that had taken her there to give a curt 'thank you' before following behind the red-robed men.

To say the place was eerie would be an understatement. Celia rubbed at her arms as the goosebumps rose on her skin after surfacing past the underground staircase into an open foyer. Whenever Cross spoke of Headquarters, she had imagined a dingy old place with even older priests than him. She certainly hadn't expected this kind of luxurious and enormous infrastructure. But even its opulent and lavish interior didn't wash away the nasty foreboding that it had crawling under her skin.

Though it wasn't the same kind of rush of electricity that happened anytime an Akuma was nearby, it did feel similar. It made her think that maybe another sort of evil slumbered here. And not the demon kind. Celia didn't have time to survey the ominous feeling that coursed through her veins like sludge. Not when the two red-robbed guards led her into a hallway with numerous doors lining the left wall and a banister keeping them fenced off from the hole on the right. Opening one of the doors in particular, one of the robed guards waited patiently for her to step into the room.

Dreary didn't even begin to describe it. There was a bed hugging the wall right underneath a window across from her, a small desk on the wall to her right, and a wardrobe sitting next to another door on her left. Aside from the furniture, however, there was no sign of it being inhabited. Had they just moved all this stuff inside?

"Tomorrow you will be taken to be examined by Hevlaska and you will begin your training."

Before she could even ask what any of what he just said meant, the door slammed closed. It's lock clicked loudly in the silence. Celia tried the doorknob for good measure. Closed. They'd locked her in the bleak room.

All this mystery and ill-treatment was really rubbing her the wrong way. Cross never mentioned anything about Headquarters being this horrible. Maybe the fact that he never returned here in the year she knew him should've given her a hint of how much he hated the place. Knowing not what else to do, Celia sauntered over to the bed, examining it carefully. All of it was clean. _Too_ clean. As if the sheets and pillow had just been sanitized and placed here. They didn't smell nice, either. They reeked of alcohol and medicine.

How she hated that smell.

Ripping the sheets off of the bed and tossing them and the pillow into a corner, Celia took off her coat and shoes and tested the mattress by lightly jumping on it a couple of times. Firm. This thing was brand new. Her eyes roamed the room and noticed that everything else in it was just like the mattress and the sheets. New. Running into the adjacent room, the only other door that was now the only one also open, wasn't any different either. A simple bathroom with sink and toilet was on the other side; all scrubbed clean to gleam in the faint light that she turned on.

The room felt uncomfortable to be in. Celia couldn't quite explain what about all this made it feel so to her, either. Maybe it was how the environment was way too pristine. Or maybe the fact that she was at such an unknown place all by herself. A combination of both? She really couldn't quite place her finger on the why. It just felt….foreign.

The perfect, unlived environment.

_It feels like I'm someone's lab rat._

Sprinting back to the room, she picked out some of her clothes from out of her bag and laid them on the mattress before lying down on them herself. There wasn't enough for a blanket but the coat she was wearing was warm enough for the night, she supposed. Curling into herself for good measure, Celia took a deep breath and inhaled the poignant smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol. Such a familiar smell clung to her clothes and each breath she took slowly calmed her wracking nerves until, at last, she passed out from her long journey.

* * *

The most melodious of hummings woke her.

Echoes of it bounced in her head, quiet at first until they were loud enough to rouse her from her slumber. With how dark the room was, Celia assumed it to be night still which made her wonder just who was out there humming.

The sound was soft and soothing and beckoned her to the door. Groggy as she was, Celia obliged, walking up to the locked door while rubbing her eyes before giving the doorknob a turn. Locked like she'd left it god knows how long ago. Yawning loudly, she shrugged her shoulders and gave the door her back ready to jump into the mess of clothes she'd made for a bed when suddenly the humming became something else.

A voice.

Celia stopped in her tracks to listen to the voice that now sung to the same melody it'd been humming.

' _When fields lie calm and wind stands still_

_Run home, run home'_

It was sort of haunting now with words. The way they inflected and swayed from high to low had given her the sense of a lullaby, but now it sounded different.

Somber. Ghostly. Unnatural.

And it was calling her.

More awake now, Celia hastily put her shoes on and rushed to the door as she plucked from her hair a pin and her hairpin. She stuck both into the keyhole and jiggled the lock in an attempt to break it. Soon, the lock clicked and Celia cheered under her breath. Picking herself out of a room wasn't hard after Cross taught her how. In the most unconventional of ways—as in locking her out of their room 'by accident' and expecting her to still find her way inside—but still a teaching moment, she supposed. It came in useful in the end so it counted for something.

Carefully peeking out of the room, she stepped out when no sign of another human being was present anywhere nearby. Celia left the door just barely open and quietly chased after the voice that continued to sing.

' _As the crows make night of the fading sun_

_Hide now, hide now'_

It brought her to a precipice of sorts. One where some sort of upside-down, pyramidal platform waited for her at the edge. Celia cautiously stepped onto it and went up to the only thing there: a podium. Standing on her tiptoes, she looked over the edge of it and saw nothing. No buttons, no levers. Nothing at all. Scowling at herself, she slammed the palm of her hand over it and stumbled back when lights came out of the flat surface. Numbers and figures lighted up on the panel and before she knew what they were or what happened, the platform began moving down into the dark hole.

Celia leaned against the podium to keep her footing, too late to jump off now and having to wait for the thing to lower itself fully. Once it did, she waited for a moment, expecting something else to happen.

Except it didn't.

Down below in the chasm she'd seen there was no light except for that of the podium she leaned against. But even that faded away after a second of idleness and left her completely in the dark...had it not been for the dim glow from underneath her long sleeve. Hastily, she pulled it back to reveal the green cross on her inner wrist pulsing dimly with a fading green glow.

"What's going on…?"

Suddenly a light of the same color engulfed her from behind and startled her enough to jump away from the podium she'd been anchoring herself on. Hitting the railings of the platform, Celia held tight onto the metal as something surfaced from the darkness. A massive being bigger than any Akuma she'd ever seen rose from the abyss and arched its long neck towards her. It was inhuman yet it still had the semblance of one mostly on the lower half of its face.

As if sensing her fear, the cross of her Innocence activated, eating away at the metal bars of the railings with its feathers. The womanly lips on its face gasped before carefully backing away from her.

"Forgive me, child. I didn't mean to startle you."

_It...speaks._

And it sounded like a very kind woman. Kind of like Red. Despite feeling them slipping, Celia held onto her defenses and instead of the railings, held her hairpin and activated the Innocence. The moment she did, however, the most blood-curdling scream she'd ever heard in her life blared in her ears. It echoed and repeated until Celia couldn't hold onto the double-sided glaive anymore. It clattered against the metal ground without losing its shape as Celia grabbed at her head in a weak attempt to silence the screams.

But it wasn't helping. Not even a little bit. It was in that ruckus that she noticed the noise wasn't coming from outside her ears. It came from her head. And it hurt. It hurt _so_ much.

Something cool and soothing suddenly took her in its arms. Almost like a warm embrace. Loving and caring, it took her in and attempted to calm her down. But even that did nothing to help silence the dying voices that screeched inside her head. Beyond the screams though, she could still hear it. The voice still hummed and sung the lines it had before. Wanting to focus on anything else to drown out the screams, Celia muttered under her breath, focusing on the words as the voice in her head sang them.

' _When the trees do bow, as if they weep_

_Stay down, stay down'_

A cool touch fell on her forehead, the warmth and brightness of a light blinding her as she continued to sing the haunting song under her breath. Before long, however, it wasn't just her voice that she heard over the incessant shrieking.

' _Though its light beckons forth, a melody calls out_

_Too late, too late'_

Finally, they ended.

Their echoes remained for a brief instant before sweet silence came over her ears. The warmth of the blinding light made her open her eyes as it vanished. Suddenly inches in front of her face was the large being she'd panicked about, but instead of seeming menacing up close, it now appeared rather comforting in a way.

"W-What…happened…?"

"It was your Innocence." Its voice was mesmerizing as it reverberated in the darkness. Despite being many feet over it and a few over the only source of solid footing there was, Celia wasn't at all disturbed. The way it held her tenderly in its formless appendages felt strangely safe. Strange, but not harmful. And that was good. "Hand of God has imparted a glimpse of its past to you."

"Past...?" A lot of what she said went over her head but that hadn't. "W-What did it say…?"

The being nodded methodically before slowly lowering Celia onto the platform once more. Those appendages of hers remained by her side to support her in her staggering stance as Celia took a moment to regain her balance after what happened.

"It is the hymn you heard," the womanly being described to her. "It warns of a fearsome and malicious entity."

"An Akuma?"

The being shook its head. "Not of the Earl's making. It is of mankind's."

"But...how can a human...be bad?"

It was then that she pressed one of her appendages against her wrist, the light from her Innocence shining dimly in response. It burned at her touch and Celia felt electricity rushing through her as the echoes of the screams and the haunting hymn swam in her mind.

"Darkness harbors itself in all beings, child. It is simply more noticeable in an Akuma's outer appearance than a human's."

The light ebbed as did the noise in her head as the ghostly being released her wrist. Pulling her sleeve down, Celia stared upward at it. "What are you?"

"I am Hevlaska. An Exorcist like yourself."

"...Exorcist?"

"It is the moniker given to us beings who are compatible with Innocence. Just like you are to Hand of God, so am I compatible with a cube."

_Hand...of God…_

"There! The elevator's lowered!"

Her eyes shot upward from where frantic shouts could be heard. Just as she was about to ask Hevlaska what they were, Celia felt the platform below her begin to move again, slowly hovering upward to where she'd taken the lift. Hevlaska didn't once look away from her as she got lifted away, her voice resonating in her ears.

"Inform Lveille I have done my examination. It appears you and Hand of God are still at odds with each other. Forty-four percent...it is not as dangerous a synchronization as others, but you should be careful, Celia Valentine."

Dropping to her knees as the elevator gained height, Celia shouted down at her to be heard. "How—How did you know my name?"

"Hand of God knows more about you than it seems you yourself do. Bear in mind, if what you seek is your past, you must first come to terms with your Innocence. It will guide you towards the right path."

Her glow disappeared along with her words as the elevator finally reached its peak once more. There in the hallway waiting for her were plenty of those red-robed guards that piled onto the lift as soon as it landed. Roughly, they grabbed at her arms and hauled her out of it, placing her on the hallway before pushing her down on her knees and head down onto the asphalt.

Grinding her teeth did nothing to alleviate the pain that ran across her jaw the moment it hit the floor. Trying to shake them off didn't work either. They were too large. Her struggling lasted a few moments though until the sound of footsteps took her attention. A man emerged from behind two guards and stuck out like an ugly sore thumb. He didn't appear like them at all. Prim and proper with a crisp uniform, the stern-looking man had slicked-back dark hair and a funny looking toothbrush mustache. All humor that could be garnered about his appearance though, left Celia the moment she saw his sharp slanted eyes. Despite his attempts at a smile, all it did was put her more on edge.

Hevlaska's words about the innate darkness in someone being less noticeable in humans came to mind. Though she would have to disagree with this one. Those sharp glaring eyes didn't evoke any kind of trust or security in her. Unlike Cross whose eyes were warm despite always in an apparent glare, this man had the eyes of a cold-blooded snake.

_I hate snakes._

"You must be Celia Valentine, Cross Marian's pupil."

Celia jerked in a vain attempt to catch the guards off guard before blowing some of her hair away from her face and scowling at the man. "Let me go!"

"Now, now, no need to be so hostile." Celia was hating that sugar-coated tone by the second. "You were sneaking around like a bad child. And bad children shouldn't be allowed to go without reprimand."

"Your order, Inspector Lveille?"

"Take her to a solitary room. The first lesson she'll learn is simple: she does not have the same impunity as her master."

The name rattled Celia's brain at remembering Hevlaska having said it. Her mouth shot open before she knew it as the guards hauled her up by her arms.

"Hevlaska said she completed my examination!"

Everybody stopped moving at once. The guards halted in taking her away, turning to the inspector to await his response. Lvellie, having had given his back to them, looked over his shoulder briefly.

"Did she now?"

Celia nodded. "She told me to let you know...that she'd done it. And that I'm 44% synchronized." _Whatever that means._ Going with the flow of her words and noticing how he paid them some semblance of attention, Celia played along with it. "She called me here. I didn't leave that room just because."

For a moment she thought he'd be reasonable. That he'd believe her. But those sharp eyes narrowed before waving dismissively away at the guards. "Place her in solitary."

Grinding her teeth, Celia fought back to not be taken away to wherever that place was. With her hands bound by their grasp, all she could muster were weak kicks that got her nowhere except more restrained. When she could move no more, her mind and heart became erratic as the former screamed at her.

_**Run,** _ _it warned._ _**Run as far as you can.** _

"LET GO OF ME!"

The green light that burst from her wrist blinded them as she yanked at the robes of one of the guards. Like they had many times before, the feathers erupted and engulfed the fabric faster than any of them could react. In a panic, they released her. Celia plopped onto the floor with a heavy _thud_ in a hail of feathers and wasted no time sprinting away from them as fast as her legs could take her.

The screech of blades against concrete made her scream instinctively and just looking over her shoulder told her exactly what it'd been. Those guards were no laughing matter. They were fast, armed and headed right after her. Her fingers clutched her hairpin and just as daggers flew at her back, Celia dispelled them with a swing of her glaive. Long slashes cut through the walls that met her blades, dropping debris in their way that luckily was enough to briefly lose them.

Running past multiple empty halls, her eyes widened when their footfalls began to echo again through them. Celia scanned her surroundings trying every door she could and jumping into the first open room before rapidly closing the door behind her. Her breathing turned shallow from the sprint, Celia allowed herself some rest as she slid down the door and kept her ear next to the door to listen for her pursuers.

Before she could hear anything from outside, a tiny gasp caught her attention.

Her head spun straight behind her from where she heard it and was surprised to find a small child in the room. A girl maybe a year or two younger than her by the looks of it stared at her with wide dark purple eyes. And though Celia stared back, it was for a whole other reason than the girl's. The kid was covered from head to toe with bandages and gauzes that not even her black dress could hide. Messy long hair fell around her cherub face hiding some of the shock and confusion from her expression.

And when she spoke, she did so with the meekest and quietest of voices. Almost like she was afraid of even speaking.

"...w-who…who are...you…?"

"Are you okay?" She didn't know what possessed her to ask this, but it had and, frankly, she wasn't too in disagreement with it. The girl looked beat up beyond words. And it turned her stomach to see anybody like that.

" _Never raise a hand against your siblings, Celia. As their older sister, your job is to protect and look after them. Harming them is the greatest sin and I will not allow it."_

_I was taught better than to be that heartless._

Reaching her hand towards her wasn't a good start to things, apparently. The instant she tried, the dark-haired girl flinched back, holding her hands together against her chest as she stumbled back towards her bed. Faster than she could stop her, the girl climbed onto the bare bed hugging the far corner, wrapping the blanket over herself as if to hide.

Sorrow turned her stomach and tightened her chest more than she thought possible at the sight of that trembling bundle of sheets. Empathy, however, drove her to take the few steps to reach the foot of her bed from where she could see the girl's dark purple eyes peeking through petrified.

"It's okay," she whispered. Kindness wasn't something she knew a lot of. Cross never showed her any that she could discern as so, anyway. But at least she had Red's memory to help with that. Keeping her distance, Celia crouched to be at eye level with the girl and smiled tenderly at her. "I'm sorry I scared you. I was just surprised and worried when I saw you were hurt."

The blanket trembled a little bit less at her words which got Celia to continue talking.

"My name is Celia. I was running away from some guys in red robes chasing me and—"

"The CROW?"

Celia's brow furrowed at the word. "Crow?"

"That's...what they're called," she explained timidly. "They make sure we...don't escape."

"We?"

Her lip trembled as she tried mustering the courage to speak again. But just as she was about to, the door to the room burst open. The girl let out a terrified scream that rang in Celia's ears as she dodged away from the CROWs' blades and ran out the door. Hardly unscathed though. Despite avoiding them, their blades were a much harder thing to avoid in close spaces. The cuts stung as the air blew against her skin while sprinting.

Celia turned as many corners to lose them again and in the process getting lost beyond belief herself. Unable to make heads or tails of the place anymore but knowing she had to get as far away from those guards as possible, she looked back seconds before she turned a corner and bumped into someone. The collision—a hard one since the other person also appeared to have been running at full speed—pushed her a good couple of feet back and down onto her backside.

Amethyst eyes shot wide open to meet the prettiest dark cobalt eyes she'd ever seen. Wide as hers, another kid that was probably a few years older than her stared dumbfounded with mouth slightly agape. Though she meant to apologize, the hurried footsteps behind her sent her into a panic yet again.

_How the heck am I supposed to lose them!?_

Out of the blue, a warm hand wrapped around her wrist and hauled her to her feet before darting off. Celia couldn't wrap her mind around why this girl was helping her but at least she seemed to know where she was going. Regrettably, because of how much she'd already been running away, her lungs and legs were burning beyond belief and begging her to rest. And though she knew stopping wouldn't do her any good, Celia couldn't help herself getting slower and slower until the girl was practically dragging her along.

"I-I c-can't!" Celia could barely let out the airy gasps before dropping to her knees and bringing the girl down with her.

"Get up!" Their voice wasn't as high-pitched like she imagined it to be. It was a tiny bit different. _Is she...a boy?_ Grabbing her arm, the black-haired boy pulled up her in an attempt to get her back on her feet. All in vain. He clicked his tongue, peeved. "They'll catch up!"

"I can't...any—"

A rush of air swept them off their feet and had them skidding on the floor before a sudden heaviness brought her down completely against the ground, her face hitting the granite painfully as the boy before her fell down like her. Peeking over her hair she could see yellow pieces of paper circling his body and energy crackling through them. Whatever these papers were, they were pulling both of them towards the floor. They were making them heavier.

Footsteps slowed to a stop behind him as the CROWs came into view from around a corner, slow pants coming from the guards that'd been chasing after her.

"Tell the Inspector we caught her."

"You take him back to his room. I'll take her to solitary—"

Just as he said that, however, an intense burning erupted from her wrist only second before vines exploded from behind her, encroaching over the two of them almost protectively while pushing the guards away just as they had reached out their hands to capture them. Another set of vines shot past them, this time cutting through the ring of conjoined papers. The instant they fell, the heaviness pulling her down vanished along with them.

The blue-eyed boy got up with an irked expression on his face as he looked behind her. Celia slowly sat up before looking over her shoulder at the man that had saved them from the guards.

He was old. Or at least appeared it with that bushy gray hair and bushy mustache and beard. A chisel in his hand glowed a soft green hue which reminded her of her own Innocence somehow. The air to him, though, was gentle as he smiled down at her, his eyes kind behind those spectacles of his.

"General Tiedoll. The Inspector gave his order to reprimand the exorcist. Allow us to take her with us."

"I'm sorry, but the young lady doesn't seem to want to go with you," he said in a calm and collected tone as he faced the guards with an aloof expression. As he said that, his gaze turned down to her. "Do you, miss?"

Celia shook her head frantically.

He then turned to the men again as those vines that had been protecting them retracted back to the chisel in his hand as it lost its glow. "There you have it. Surely the Inspector has the mind to pardon the misstep of a young child."

"G-General, we can't—"

"Do let him know."

It took a moment but they left rather begrudgingly afterward. Something quite astounding for her. But as Tiedoll bent over while offering a hand, Celia snapped back to attention, backing off as she struggled to stand. "It's alright, child. I will not harm you. Would you like to have something to eat? Your journey here must've been a long one, and I'm sure you're longing for a meal."

Celia seriously thought about it. This man didn't seem hostile nor ill-intentioned like those others or that man they called the inspector. He looked like he was actually looking after her well-being. That little thought gave her enough confidence to step closer to him before nodding.

"I...I am hungry."

"Good," he chuckled as he stood back up straight. "Let's go wat then." His gaze turned down to the boy standing beside him and Celia followed his line of sight to the boy that, strangely enough, was staring at her.

His brow appearing to be permanently furrowed, those dark cobalt eyes glared down at her with an intensity that she couldn't fathom a reason for. Hadn't he helped her minutes ago? Those same eyes suddenly widened as Tiedoll's large hand perched on the crown of his head to ruffle the small ponytail his hair was tied up in.

"Now, Yuu-kun, don't be mean to our new friend."

Hating the gesture, the boy hissed back at the old man to not call him that while failing in his attempt to pry his hand off his head. Tiedoll let out a hearty chuckle as he took back his hand.

"You were heading to fetch little Lenalee, correct? Go ahead then. We'll see you both in the cafeteria."

He clicked his tongue, heading out without a word, and only pausing briefly as he passed her to once more glare at her. The sight of those dark cobalt eyes sent a shiver down her spine and had static briefly flashing before her as he passed.

_What the…_

The moment it took Celia to rub her eyes was the same moment it took for the blue-eyed boy to leave her alone with the man, Tiedoll. He smiled down at her as he gestured towards the hallway.

"Shall we?"

Celia felt a bit more at ease with this person that she had with Lvellie or those guards, which was saying a lot. But she still kept her guard up just in case. Following after him led her to a set of double doors that opened to a grand dining room stacked to the brim with long tables and benches. Far across the entrance people lined up with trays apparently to have it served to them.

It was a strange sight because of how eerily quiet it was aside from the clanking utensils. Tiedoll took her to stand in line where they were each served a bowl of soup, bread, salad and a plain glass of water. Once seated, Celia looked at the food before her queasily. It didn't look appetizing in the least.

"I know it's not much but it is food."

Tiedoll's remark and her stomach's rumbling reminding her of how tired and hungry she was seemed to be enough of a reason for her to dig in. It tasted plain and not that good, but he was right. It was food. Just as she was stuffing the loaf of bread into her mouth, two trays fell noisily beside Tiedoll.

The boy and girl from before sat to his right. The black-haired girl huddled closer to the dark cobalt-eyed boy with the permanent scowl on his face as the two eyed her.

"How about some introductions, dear. I'm sure these two are as excited to meet you as you are."

 _I wouldn't exactly call it excitement._ But he wasn't wrong. She _was_ curious about them. And the only way to find out more was to take that first step. Wolfing down the loaf of bread and drinking down the glass of water, Celia set it down on the table before smiling.

"My name's Celia. It's, um, nice to meet you."

The girl grabbed onto the boy's arm and hid her face for a moment against his shoulder before peeking out. "L-Lena...lee. That's my name."

"Lenalee?" Lenalee nodded at her repeating her name. "I like your name. It's very cute."

"T-Thanks…"

Expectantly, amethyst eyes turned towards dark cobalt only for him to burst out irritated a split second later.

"What?!"

"Isn't this supposed to be where you introduce yourself?" Celia chided, her cheeks puffing out annoyed.

Letting out a humph, the boy turned away with that same scowl on his face. He wasn't budging either. Silent as a stone.

"Don't be shy, Yuu-kun."

"Don't call me that!"

_Yuu?_

Static echoed in the back of her mind for the briefest of moments. Then suddenly, a great sadness overwhelmed her to the point that a prickling came over her eyes. Celia rubbed away at them with the heel of her palm to find wet spots on them.

"Are you alright, child?"

Celia chuckled at Tiedoll's question, her hands frantically wiping away at the tears that suddenly sprung from her eyes. "Y-Yeah! I'm completely fine! I don't know why this is happening… I really don't."

But the sadness was becoming too large to bear. Wanting to quiet her senseless crying, she leaned over the table and snatched Yuu's bread. He complained at her with a loud 'hey' but she ignored him, stuffing her face instead and letting that take the place of the sobs she sensed approaching.

"It isn't nice to make girls cry, Kanda. You should apologize."

The deep voice of the man that suddenly took a seat beside her startled her enough to choke her. Patting her chest to let it through, she turned with tearing eyes to the large man. Dark-skinned and with only a bit of hair tied at the top of his hair, what stuck out most about him was the blank look in his eye. White irises looked straight ahead, only ever 'eyeing' things after a brief pause.

 _Blind,_ her mind told her. _He's blind._

The man turned down to her with a small smile pulling at his lips. "I'm Noise Marie. I apologize about Kanda's behavior. He's not a very social kid."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here, damnit!"

"Yuu-kun, language."

"Augh!"

Celia chuckled at the exchange. And that Lenalee's lip formed the ghost of a line was as much as they'd get apparently. Introducing herself to Marie, Celia left the table briefly to get another serving, returning to the somewhat normal little bit of peace she had with those people.

Somehow the banality of the food didn't taste as bad with them.

Once done with dinner, Tiedoll asked Kanda and Lenalee if they could walk Celia back to the dormitories. Apparently it was late. Celia didn't recall having slept for so long, but most of the day must've come and gone while she slept. Waving goodbye at Tiedoll and Marie, she followed after Kanda who led them while Lenalee kept close to him as if still uncomfortable with her.

As they walked up several flights of stairs, Celia watched the myriad of places that were harbored in this place. Many seemed to be sectioned off. Some were guarded by CROWs. But as they stepped into a floor with the dormitories, a rush of electricity came over her. It wasn't alarming like when Akuma were near. No, it was more like a nudge. A rather incessant one that continued to send tingling electricity down her spine until she turned towards the direction it wanted her to.

A dark hallway met her. When it did, she turned from the dark hall towards the brightly lit one they'd been following. There was still a bit of way to go to get to the dormitories if she remembered correctly. And Kanda and Lenalee were leading a bit far ahead, Lenalee's quiet whispers barely heard over Kanda's grumbling.

_I'll be back before they know I'm gone._

Taking her chance, Celia stepped out of line towards the hallway and followed further in. To say that it was dim would be a joke. Unlike many of the other places that were lit with lightbulbs and electricity, the way into this one was lighted with candles that hung from the walls. Reaching over to a table nearby littered with more candles, she took one in hand to better light her way in the darkness.

The cobblestone hall seemed to run endlessly. Until it didn't and left her with numerous closed doors before her. Right at that very moment, the electricity suddenly began running rampant in her body. So much so that even as she held the candle holder in her hand, tiny sparks of green danced around her fingers and the metal holder.

Eyeing each one briefly, her eyes stopped at one of the doors that appeared slightly open. Coming closer to it, Celia reached out her hand to the doorknob, sparks running wild and excited around her hand only for them to die out the moment another hand stopped hers in its tracks.

Gasping in terror, Celia stopped herself from punching Kanda when she realized it'd been him who'd stopped her from opening the door. The dim light coming from the candle framed his scowl in a much more serious light. Lenalee was barely visible as she cowered behind him, but the hands around his arm trembled so furiously that even she could see them now.

"Let's go." Succinct as could be, the words didn't satisfy the innate curiosity that had brought Celia there. So she did what had worked with Cross most times before: she whined.

"But I want to see what's in there."

"Don't be an idiot," he hissed back.

"A peek won't hurt."

"Stop being so annoying."

"Forget you, I'll just—"

"Don't!"

The sparks of green ran amok, lighting the hallway a good bit the moment Lenalee's hand touched hers. Though it scared both of them, Lenalee didn't let go. And the fearsome way she latched onto her stopped Celia in her tracks more than anything. Despite how timid she'd been this whole time, now was when she decided to act. All while still trembling like a frightened rabbit.

"I-I...always hear...s-screams from this place. W-We shouldn't b-be here."

Guilty for driving her to such a point, Celia chuckled as she turned away from the door. "I'm sorry. I won't go in there."

Lenalee didn't let go, however. Instead, she kept herself attached to Celia's arm all the way out of the dark hallway and back to the dormitories. Once before her room, Celia closed the door after a wave goodbye and waited for their footsteps to recede. With how many rooms there were, surely they'd be far enough to not notice her leaving.

Just as she peeked out of her room, though, an angry glare shot her way as Kanda passed in front of it.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Um...bathroom?"

Getting the door slammed in her face so hard caused Celia to yelp as he shouted from the other side of the door. "And stay in there!"

Celia rubbed at her nose to ease some of the pain, tears springing to her eyes as she did so. _What a jerk!_ Sniffling all the way to her bed, Celia laid in the mound of clothes she'd laid there before and tried to sleep. No matter how much she tried, however, all she kept doing was aimlessly tossing and turning thinking about that hallway. And it wasn't until the early hours of the morning that Celia sprung up in her bed unable to take it anymore.

"I'm not gonna have this gnaw at my head."

Taking off her shoes to make the least amount of noise possible, Celia carefully pried open her door and only left enough space for her to exit while not closing it entirely. Like that, she wouldn't have to make so much noise on the way back. Tiptoeing her way through even darker halls than before, it was amazing just how different this place was from one hour to the next. Disregarding that for now, Celia came to the same hallway from before, easily finding it now that she could more or less map the few places she'd been at in her head.

With a candle in hand like she'd had before, Celia traversed through the halls quickly until she found herself at the same doors from before. This time she only lightly pushed one of the already open doors to look inside. Just enough to have a look inside.

The first thing she saw was a person chained to a chair unable to move. Their paleness and sickly demeanor sent a chill down her spine. Were they still alive? They weren't moving a lot. It didn't even look like they were breathing still. Utterly rattled, electricity jumped in small sparks around her fingers as she hid the light of the candle to avoid being seen from inside. But the person didn't seem to notice the light. Or anything for that matter. Not even as other people approached the chair did they flinch or respond.

Celia held her breath from her place at the door. From there, she couldn't hear a lot. Not with how annoying the electricity dancing in her hands was. But she caught some parts of it.

Synchronization rate. More tests. Blood-relative of an exorcist. The words meant very little to her but before she had any time to wonder about them, the light of her sparks was overwhelmed by Hevlaska's sudden appearance at being summoned. Suddenly, she was forcing something into the person. A cube—Innocence.

It ended quickly. And with horrible consequences. Celia held her breath unable to believe what she'd just seen and the aftermath of what it left behind. On the chair, instead of the person chained, all that sat there now was a misshapen humanoid. It was all white with no eyes and its mouth painfully stuck in its dying scream.

"I have said this before...and I will continue to repeat it. This...is a vain attempt. None but those compatible...may synchronize."

" **What a mockery they have made out of years of hard-earned research."**

Celia didn't know what propelled her to run away then. The fear, the disgust, or the sadness of what she'd just witnessed. What she heard in her head, that mocking voice she'd never before heard, scared her beyond words though. More than what she'd seen, more than what those people had done—the way that voice so condescendingly and apathetically spoke caused her to flee.

Because wherever it was coming from—whatever had brought it to the surface—was something she wanted nothing with.

Out of breath by the time she reached the hallway to the rooms, Celia stopped feet away from her door where, shockingly enough, she found Kanda leaning against. At spotting her he stood up from his place, slightly scowling at her as she made his way to the door next to her room and opened it.

"We warned you."

Just as he was closing the door, Celia grabbed onto the doorknob and held it taut in her hand, not letting go and keeping him from going back into his room. Tears were threatening to spill now, every emotion that was racked in her mind spilling over with them.

"I-I thought this place wouldn't be...that it wouldn't be so horrible after all. But those people...what they were doing—"

"It's what they do," Kanda spat back. "All for the sake of their stupid holy war."

_Holy war?_

Letting that sink in, Celia released his door slowly. She stood there unable to rightly process what she'd seen and what he'd said.

"Get used to it." Kanda's voice had lost some of its venom now. "This is how this place really is. How the world really is. They don't care about us. To them...we're just weapons."

Wiping the tears away from her face, Celia couldn't help but stare at her feet as he closed the door. There didn't seem to be an end to her tears. No matter the times she wiped at them or the times she chided herself to stop, they wouldn't stop.

This place...it was truly horrible. And the people in it were, too.

As she stood there unable to grasp any of the emotions surging through her, the sudden opening of the door startled her as Kanda's door shot open without warning. With an even angrier scowl, he yanked her by her wrist and took her into her room. Rather brusquely, Kanda shoved her onto her bed before she could ask or complain about what he was doing. The suddenness of it all simply left her trying to keep up as she messily laid on the mound of clothes she'd piled on her mattress.

Amethyst eyes blinked owlishly unable to understand what just happened. Kanda didn't bother to explain, either. Instead, he headed out to leave. Seeing his receding back though, sent her into a panic that she couldn't quite comprehend. Almost instinctively, Celia jumped to a seat and pulled him by the hem of his shirt, causing him to stumble backward rather painfully onto the railing of her bed.

"What the hell?!"

Her mouth fell open but no words came out just yet. Instead, she let silence overwhelm them for a moment as she thought of how to make the jumble that was her mind work again.

"Can...can you stay?"

"What?" he spat back.

Defensive out of the blue, Celia puffed her cheeks but lost her annoyance quickly enough with how exhausted she was after the day she'd had. "Just until I fall asleep...please."

Celia didn't know what in heaven's name made her ask him. Maybe it was just him being opportunely close by. Maybe the fact that he was being so frank with her, as well. Regardless of what it was, all Celia knew was that having someone physically there with her would be good.

It'd be calming. Reassuring even.

Just like when Cross sometimes stayed behind until she fell asleep. Just like Red had done the night she found her.

Kanda heaved a long sigh before yanking his shirt away. Celia was about to ask him again but stopped herself when instead he simply gave his back to her and leaned on the bed as he sat on the floor.

He didn't say much more. He didn't need to. Smiling to herself, Celia snuggled in the clothes that made up her bed and laid her head closest to the side where Kanda sat, giving her a view of the back of his head. As her eyes fluttered closed, she took a deep breath only to smell something that wasn't smoke or alcohol.

Instead of that, its scent was pleasant and slightly sweet.

_It smells like flowers._

"...thanks, Yuu."

"Don't...call me that." He didn't sound angry like he had when Tiedoll had said it. Instead of annoyance, all she barely heard in his voice was a bit of melancholy. "Go to sleep already."

A smile played on her lips as her mind began to drift with the mild scent of flowers overbearing the rest and lulling her to sleep.


End file.
